


The Enemy of My Enemy Is Not My Friend and My Enemy Is Actually My Secret Lover

by darkness_prince_dan



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood Drinking, Boys In Denial, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Non-Consensual Touching, So many OCs, Vampires, Werewolf Pack Feels, Werewolves, and so many near death experiences, dan being an indecisive dick, have i mentioned how much blood is in this one, hunter manipulations, kidnapping and torture, like bucketloads, now there's an epilogue with the added bonus of smut, so many wounds, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-04-23 11:16:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 110,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4874644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkness_prince_dan/pseuds/darkness_prince_dan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vampires and werewolves have been enemies since the dawn of time, that’s common knowledge. But it doesn’t stop Phil, a werewolf, and Dan, a vampire, from falling for each other and becoming Romeo and Juliet of the supernatural world, though hopefully without the tragic ending.</p><p>Edit: Translation into Pусский provided by the lovely Julia: https://ficbook.net/readfic/5480216</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: a huge thank you to Julia who is now (may, 2017) translating this fic into Russian!!!!
> 
>  
> 
> Look at me starting things I probably won't finish, but I've just been reading a shitload of 'Teen Wolf' fics and werewolves are all I can think about so here we are *shrugs*  
> Also, the title is fucking ridiculous and so bad but I love it lol  
> Another also, the weres here are based on 'Teen Wolf' lore mostly but I might take some liberties, the vampires though are all mine.

The early morning sunlight pierces through the rich green foliage of the trees creating a light mosaic on the forest floor. Temperature rises slowly but steadily in turn transforming the miniscule icicles adorning the silky moss into the tiniest beads of dew. A soft summer breeze ruffles the leaves, caresses the taller blades of grass, gently brushes over the petals of a stray flower. There’s a stream nearby, bubbling silently over slick wet stones, enforcing the picture of perfect calm and serenity that is the middle of the woods.

He stumbles into the ice cold water and cringes at the temperature of it but also because he’s making too much noise. The splashing is too loud in the stillness, his breathing is too but he can’t quite do anything about it. With utmost gracelessness he slips and manages to not plant his face on the slimy rocks by extending his hand and catching himself in time, however, the whole of his front is now soaked. He grits his teeth and struggles to stand up. Dripping wet, he staggers out of the water and leans on a tree with his right, uninjured, shoulder. The left one is pulsing with pain and oozing black blood. It hurts like a bitch too.

Phil should have known better than to get separated from his pack when the woods are crawling with literally dozens of hunters. And he’s an idiot for getting shot and with a wolfsbane bullet of all things. There’s no way he’s surviving that. But his instincts are still in control and no matter that he’s basically a walking dead man, he still tries to find a hiding place for however long he’s got left.

An arrow flies through the air and Phil manages to avoid it only narrowly. His senses are becoming more and more dull by the minute; damn the wolfsbane. Pushing himself off the tree, he starts running again. He’s still faster than the hunters but he’s losing that too and he needs to find some cave where he could die peacefully.

His vision starts to swim after a few minutes of sprinting at top speed. The exertion helps to weaken his body so the poison works faster. In other words, if he doesn’t stop now, he’ll drop dead here where the hunters will be able to find his body and mutilate it to their content. Phil’s not having any of that. Leaning against another trunk, he looks around, swiping his tongue over his dry lips. There’s a collection of boulders at the bottom of a small slope. The rocks are covered in moss, ferns littering the forest floor by them, a small hardly noticeable gap between them. Struggling to breath, he stumbles forward. Phil wants only to inspect and see if there’s maybe more space inside if he could fit through. He hears shouts from the hunters, taunting ‘come here, wolfy’ rings through the air. Without thinking he slips past the rocks into the darkness.

Phil jumps in surprise when he’s roughly pushed against a stone wall in the small space between the rocks. A cold hand clamps over his mouth, silencing his yelp. The confusion soon dissipates and an involuntary rumble bursts out of his chest at the too sweet smell, accompanied by the stench of burnt flesh, that’s filling his nose. His eyes flash yellow in the darkness but he receives a hard slap on his uninjured shoulder and an angrily whispered ‘shut the fuck up if you don’t want them finding us’. Phil clenches his jaw and frowns at the vampire in front of him. He pushes at him, wanting to get away, but the gap between them only widens by a couple of inches as the vampire hits his back on the other wall. So Phil’s left nose to nose with the most disgusting being on this planet.

They’re both breathing heavily and glare daggers at each other while the hunters decide to take a rest right outside. Phil curses his luck. Only he could get stuck in a ridiculously small cavern with a freaking vampire of all the supernatural beings. His eyes are still burning yellow and he knows his fangs are showing along with his claws. The vampire looks him over and rolls his brown eyes, not impressed by the hostility. He doesn’t look any better off than Phil though. The vampire’s clothes are dirty and torn, his brown hair ruffled, the fringe curling on the edges, burns on his arms and neck don’t look more comfortable than Phil’s gunshot wound. His situation is worse too; he can’t actually get out in the sunlight, hunters or no hunters, without burning to a crisp so he’ll probably be stuck here all day long. Phil almost smiles before realising that he’ll die with a bloody vampire next to him. Fuck his luck. He thumps his head silently on the rock behind him.

Concentrating on the hunters, Phil tries to not think about his companion. It proves difficult for some reason because all his senses are catching are the sluggish thumping of the vampire’s heart, his even breathing, the way he shifts uncomfortably from their close proximity, his gaggingly sweet smell. His nose is scrunched up too but he refuses to look at Phil. Clearly, the loathing goes both ways.

Phil suppresses a groan as a shudder of pain runs through his body, the wound reminding of itself. He closes his eyes, riding out the pulsing pain until it ebbs away somewhat. His breathing is ragged and loud, heartbeat too, he’s shaking and breaking a sweat. Damn, he’s dying fast. Biting his lip, Phil clutches the wall behind him with blunt human nails; the pain preventing him from transforming anymore. He opens his eyes. The vampire’s glancing at his wound, a frown on his face. He notices Phil watching and rearranges his features into a blank expression of disinterest before resolutely looking away again. Phil snorts and closes his eyes again. He can’t really do anything if the vampire can’t stand the stench of death that Phil’s wound is giving off, no matter if he frowns at it or not.

There’s a hardly noticeable shift in the vampire’s heartbeat. It seems to be slowing down with every minute, just minutely but enough for Phil’s ears to catch. His eyes snap open and he looks the vampire over. His hands are shaking and he clenches them into fists, he seems to be paler than before and his eyes are unfocused. Phil’s got no idea what’s the deal with that, he’s not really an expert on vampire biology, but he guesses it doesn’t bode well.

“What’s wrong with you?” Phil nearly smacks himself for even asking, and with worry lacing his tone? What the hell? He doesn’t care about vampires, he hates them, he would have already killed the vampire if they had met under different circumstances.

However, that’s not quite true, Phil has to admit. He’s been _taught_  to hate vampires but he doesn’t  _actually_  harbour any animosity towards them. Sure, their smell is irritating and his instincts say that they’re dangerous but he was never personally offended by a vampire. He doesn’t even think they’re that bad since a lot of them choose to drink donor blood these days instead of draining their victims. The teaching implemented in him, though, chases thoughts like these away quickly and he’s left rather confused.

The vampire glares, seemingly wanting to rip Phil’s throat out if the suddenly bare fangs are anything to go by.

“Fine, I was just trying to make small talk,” Phil rolls his eyes, berating himself internally for speaking up a second time but seems unable to stop. “Better than listening to them,” he nods in the general direction of the hunters, “explicitly explain how they want to disembowel us.”

The vampire frowns a bit and sighs, shaking his head.

“I haven’t fed in days,” he replies to Phil’s surprise. “The sunlight did too much damage; my body’s shutting down,” he’s using the same quiet tone Phil set so only the two of them could hear each other.

“So you’re dying?” Phil deadpans, lifting an eyebrow.

“No, you idiot,” the vampire says irately. “My body won’t function but it’ll start back up again if I get blood,” he says as if it’s common knowledge. “Now  _you_  are certainly dying.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Phil shrugs a shoulder, grinning for some reason. The vampire scoffs muttering something too low even for Phil to catch. “I’d offer you some of my blood but, you know, I’m slowly being poisoned and all that so I don’t think it would work,” he says offhandedly. He has no idea why he wants to continue the conversation.

“As if I would take you up on that offer even if you were healthy,” the vampire makes a face of utmost disgust and Phil can’t stop the sudden burst of silent laughter. Sure, he might be a bit delirious but the vampire looks positively adorable so Phil doesn’t hold the expression of joy against himself. “Shut it,” the vampire glares at him, not really happy with the too loud sound, though Phil doubts the hunters heard him.

“Oh, come on,” Phil rolls his eyes, which are becoming harder and harder to keep open. “We both know werewolf blood would help you heal faster and would allow you to have some fun in the sun,” he smirks. That’s basically where all the hatred between vampires and werewolves started: vampires used to drain weres so they could frolic outside during daytime without getting burnt to a crisp. Obviously, this didn’t go well with the werewolf community when they almost went extinct because of that so there were treaties drawn up and truces made but some vampires still slip up and are dealt with quickly and efficiently by werewolves much to the chagrin of vampires.

“And I would get hunted down by your pack mates,” the vampire looks away, showing disinterest in the conversation. “No thanks.”

“You wouldn’t if it were with my permission,” Phil argues and doesn’t even know why. It’s not like he dreamed of ever becoming a vampire’s lunch but now he wonders how it would feel because, apparently, vampires have some sort of connection happening with the people they feed on for the duration of the so called meal.

“Can we drop this?” The vampire is suddenly tense, his eyes are locked on Phil’s pulse point and he clearly wants to take Phil up on his offer no matter what he says.

“Alright,” Phil agrees easily. “So why haven’t you fed in so long?” He asks and the vampire scowls but by this point Phil thinks it’s his default expression.

“I was tracking the hunters and didn’t have time,” he answers, pursing his lips and resolutely looking away, clearly not happy with this topic either.

“Could’ve had one of them for a meal,” Phil suggests. His eyes close on their own volition and he has to make a conscious effort to keep them open and not slur his words.

“Contrary to popular belief not all vampires murder everything with a heartbeat,” the vampire replies scathingly. Did Phil just insult him or something? And even if he did, why does he feel guilt stirring in his gut? It’s really unhealthy to think about the vampire as an actual person with feelings and emotions, someone who Phil can offend, and he should stop doing that.

“Sorry,” he says against his better judgement. But whatever, he’s going to die soon enough so some bonding with a vampire is not that bad.

They fall silent after that. Phil convulses with another round of pain passing through him and tries to keep his groans to a minimum. His eyes are closed, breathing heavy, head rests on the wall behind him, and he really wants to slump down and curl into a ball of agony. The vampire’s presence no longer bothers him and his chilly skin even helps Phil ground himself somewhat and not completely succumb to the darkness. Focusing all his senses on the guy also helps to comfort him. Phil listens to the other’s breathing, pacing his own with it, to his heartbeat that’s getting weaker, which worries Phil slightly even though it really shouldn’t, he can sense every little shift of his body, relaxing noticeably when the vampire’s fingertips brush over the bare skin of Phil’s arms. Overall, being in a tight space with a being he’s supposed to despise is not that bad.

“Where’s your pack?” The vampire asks, distracting him. Phil’s stunned for a second, not having expected that the vampire will continue their chit chatting.

Phil opens his eyes slowly, looking the guy over. He squirms under Phil’s gaze and Phil just knows something’s changed but can’t quite tell what.

“Beats me,” he answers after a couple of seconds. “We got scattered the minute the hunters showed up. I have no idea how me missed them coming into town.”

“They’ve been here for a few days already,” the vampire furrows his brows, glancing away. Does he look guilty or is Phil hallucinating? “We’ve known they’ll be arriving a week prior,” he says, gnawing on his lip with those sharp teeth before wincing slightly and widening his eyes.

“Well, we’ve been busy dealing with a stray omega so we’ve been distracted,” he responds sluggishly. His focus is slipping and breathing is barely possible as twinges of pain are slowly consuming his whole being. He thinks he hears the vampire swearing and when did he close his eyes again?

“How many are there in your pack?” The vampire asks, there’s something Phil can’t quite pinpoint in his tone.

“Nuh uh,” he shakes his head, a small smile on his lips. “Not gonna reveal vital information to the enemy,” his words are slurred; it’s getting real bad real fast.

“How the hell would I even use it if we’re both gonna end up dead here?” The vampire huffs in annoyance.

“Thought you said you won’t die,” Phil manages to pry one eye open to see the other roll his eyes.

“Same shit if no one finds me,” he answers.

A shudder runs through Phil’s body again and this time he can’t stop from groaning, albeit trying to keep it as quiet as possible.

“I’m Dan,” the vampire says. Is that panic in his voice?

“That was out of the blue,” Phil murmurs amused. “Phil,” he adds nevertheless.

“So how do you heal wolfsbane poisoning, Phil?” Dan asks gently, keeping up the conversation for some reason. Phil likes how his name rolls off the vampire’s tongue. And woah, that’s a weird thought. Is losing his mind a side effect of the poison?

“Gotta get the same type the hunters used,” he finds himself explaining even though with some difficulty and a few flinches from the searing pain. “You burn it and shove the ashes in the wound. Heals pretty quickly afterwards.”

“Do you know what type they used?” Dan prods further and is he rubbing circles on Phil’s shoulder with his thumb or is Phil imagining touches now too? Somehow the thought of the vampire caressing his skin doesn’t seem repulsive to Phil. Huh. He frowns slightly considering that new development. “Phil?” Dan prompts urgently, wincing slightly and not keeping to their quiet tone. Phil supposes it’s because the hunters might have moved on, he can’t be sure though as his senses are nearly non-existent by now.

“They all feel the same as they’re poisoning me,” Phil rolls his eyes but they’re closed so there’s zero effect. “I’d need a bullet from them, the wolfsbane’s inside.”

“Alright, okay,” after that Dan falls silent. Phil wants to ask him to talk more, it was quite a good distraction from the pain, but he doesn’t have the energy. Instead, he opens his eyes a sliver and watches as the vampire worries his plush bottom lip between his teeth, his gorgeous eyes focused on something outside as he looks through the gap, thick lashes frame them and cast slight shadows on his round cheeks. Fuck, who even allowed him to use all those adjectives? Phil groans at himself and Dan turns to him at once. Ignoring a glance thrown his way and not wasting energy on deciphering the emotion behind it, Phil relaxes as his eyes fall shut.

“Can’t believe I’m fucking doing this,” Dan murmurs. Or at least Phil thinks he does; Phil’s pretty much out of it.

Another pulse of pain makes sure that it’s lights out for Phil and the werewolf succumbs to darkness. His last thought is that he completely fucked up and didn’t even deserve being second in command to his Alpha.


	2. Chapter 2

Dan regrets his decision as soon as he makes it. But the werewolf in front of him is already passed out and his vitals don’t seem promising so he sticks with it nevertheless.

“Can’t believe I’m fucking doing this,” he murmurs to himself and gnaws on his lip some more.

Why does he even care, he wonders. Why does he want to risk his fucking  _life_  to help a  _werewolf_? It makes zero sense. However, there’s just something about Phil that Dan can’t quite pinpoint, something that makes the vampire want to care for him, make sure he’s happy and healthy, and if Dan didn’t know any better he’d say they’re soulmates or some similar nonsense but that’s just plain ridiculous and he doesn’t give that theory a second thought. Actually, he shouldn’t be having any thoughts as the wolf that’s pressed up against him is clearly running a high fever, which says a lot as their body temperature is already higher than a human’s and nearly burning on Dan’s own colder skin when it’s normal, he’s also barely breathing and his heartbeat is nearing Dan’s pace, which is healthy only if you’re a walking dead man like a vampire. So Dan shuts his mind up and focuses on the task at hand.

The hunters that are resting right outside their hideout are getting ready to leave so he has to act quick. He gets lucky as one of them lags behind; she’s re-lacing her boots, one foot on a rock, back to him. Dan takes a deep breath and oh so slowly slips past the gap between the rocks into the daylight. He blinks a few times, adjusting to the sudden onslaught of light, but doesn’t make a move yet. Observing his surroundings, he notices a few patches of sunlight that manage to make their way through the thick foliage and are completely dangerous to him. He avoids them, moving quickly and silently, crouching low by the ground and listening to anything out of the ordinary. The hunters are laughing and tauntingly calling the wolves but they’re already far away so Dan pays them no mind. More disconcerting for him is the slowing heartbeat in the cave and he doesn’t have even the slightest indication why since it belongs to a werewolf and Dan should not care about their kind. As it happens, ‘should’ is the operating word and not ‘does’, which yeah, weird, but Dan never claimed to being a normal vampire.

He manages to sneak up to the huntress and takes her down silently with practised ease learned from his creator. The woman is still alive but unconscious as Dan lays her down on the ground. The thumping of her heart is suddenly all he can think about and the smell of her blood fills his nose. He’s so extremely hungry and his mouth opens on its own volition as he stares at the pulse point on her neck. Without really thinking and giving into his need, Dan bends down, his fangs graze her neck, but then he smells it. His nose wrinkles in disgust and he snaps out of his daze. Of course, hunters would be drinking some disgusting herbal concoction that would poison their blood for vampires. Dan’s just glad he caught the stench of it early on and is not now tearing his throat out as the foul blood trickles down it. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he grabs her gun and takes the clip out of it before slipping it into his pocket. He glances behind himself, listening intently, but the hunters haven’t noticed anything yet. However, there’s no doubt they’ll return soon in search of the woman so Dan has to make sure to get the werewolf as far away as possible until then.

The task proves to be more difficult than it seemed; and it did seem quite difficult. Firstly, he has to manoeuvre the werewolf out of the cavern which is not easy with him being unconscious, not helpful at all and boiling hot to Dan’s touch which is extremely not appreciated or pleasant. Dan might have huffed and cursed him more than necessary before giving up on being gentle and just shoving him through the gap with an extremely loud thud as he landed on the forest floor. After that, he drapes the wolf over his shoulder and scurries away as quickly as possible. In theory that should not have been hard, however, Dan hasn’t fed in several days, is weakened by the severe burns on his skin and has to avoid every single patch of sunlight, which he doesn’t manage as well as he wants and has a few new burns to show for it, not to mention risking running into hunters that are still roaming around. His senses are on edge but they are dulled and he is tired so he almost dances in victory when after a couple of hours they reach the road where he had parked his car the previous night when he tracked the hunters here. The drive back to Dan’s flat is uneventful, only with a few groans and moans of pain from the werewolf on the back seat which make Dan go over the speed limit quite a few times.

Dan is positively exhausted as he dumps the sorry ass of the werewolf on his sofa when he finally manages to drag him into his flat. He wants nothing more but to have a few bags of blood and sleep for a decade or two. However, first things first; he has to take care of the wolf who somehow managed to make his way under Dan’s skin and made him feel the  _need_  to take care of him. Dan huffs in annoyance, grumbling about stupid werewolves being nearly stupidly dead and fucking with his emotions and turning his whole world view around.

He grabs a lighter from his kitchen counter drawer and gets back to the wolf. Kneeling by the sofa, Dan tosses the lighter onto the low coffee table and takes out the clip, sliding a bullet out of it and into his palm. He bites off the end of it carefully, not really wanting to taste the wolfsbane; it’s not really poisonous to him but it still smells awful and he rather not have the taste of it in his mouth. The powder falls onto the wooden surface of the table, the stench of it fills the air as Dan tosses the shell aside before setting the powder alight. A blue flame bursts forth, making Dan jump and scramble backwards on all fours, but it only lasts a couple of seconds until only black ash is left behind.

“Right,” Dan mutters to himself, trying to remember what Phil said he was supposed to do afterwards. Ah yes, he should shove the ash into a fucking werewolf’s wound. Yeah, like that won’t get his head torn off.

Dan sighs. He doesn’t really have a better choice. The wolf’s breathing is barely audible, his heart rate nearly matches Dan’s and he’s burning hotter than he’s supposed to, which signals that Dan should absolutely do something unless he wants a dead werewolf on his sofa. So Dan kneels once again and turns to the wolf. He bites his bottom lip, taking in his appearance and ignoring the stutter of his own heartbeat when he notices how pale and weak the other looks. Dan rips at Phil’s shirt, exposing the wound and trying not to gag at the sight and smell of it. Clenching his jaw, he scoops up the powder and braces himself. He clamps his hand over the wound and stumbles back, out of the possible range of werewolf claws that could easily splice him in half.

The wolf doesn’t react for a second and then there’s a howl and a growl ripping out of his chest as his back lifts up from the sofa in searing pain. Dan winces in empathy, an emotion he didn’t know he was capable of, as he watches the wolf transform into his beta form, his face twisting and growing more hair, his claws slicing the back of Dan’s sofa and Dan frowns at that. It’s pretty anticlimactic after that since the wolf shifts back to normal, his breathing heavier and louder, his heartbeat stronger and faster. Dan exhales shakily and runs a hand through his ruffled hair. Crisis fucking averted.

He goes back to the kitchen that is conveniently in the same space as the lounge so he can still watch over the wolf (just making sure he doesn’t wake up suddenly and doesn’t attack Dan and certainly not because he doesn’t want to let the werewolf out of his sight until Dan’s sure that he’ll be okay, totally not because of that, that would be madness) and grabs himself a bag of blood. With a frown he realises that it’s his last bag and he berates himself mentally for not stocking up since this won’t help him heal even a third of his burns. Nevertheless, he returns to the side of the werewolf, sitting in an armchair to the right of the sofa so he can stare at the other while he nurses his bag of blood. Dan piles his feet onto the table and slouches but immediately sits up straighter when the wounds on the back of his neck brush against the material of the chair.

“Fucking sun with its fucking burning,” he mutters to himself as he scowls at the closed blinds covering the huge windows in front of him; he, of course, never has them open.

He glances at the spiral staircase to his left, in the corner of the loft, and thinks about sneaking up to his room to sleep. But the burns are tingling unpleasantly and he thinks he won’t be able to relax in this state. He needs his wounds to heal and in order to achieve that he needs more blood which he’ll be able to get only when the sun sets. Groaning, he throws the empty packet of blood onto the table. And then he realises that he actually just contemplated  _sleeping_  when there’s a werewolf in his flat, he actually thought about  _relaxing_  and completely letting his guard down by  _sleeping_  with another fucking supernatural in his home. He must be losing all his self-preservation skills.

“Fuck’s sake,” he mumbles near incomprehensibly, running a hand over his face and wincing when his fingers scrape over a burn on his cheek.

The wolf is still out. He looks more relaxed and clearly healthier. Dan’s eyes skim over his black fluffy hair, possibly silky to the touch, the beaky ridge if his nose, his sharp cheekbones, the light dusting of hair on his exposed and toned chest. He swallows hard, thinking about how it would be so easy to just reach out and touch and woah, let’s stop there. Who in the world allowed him to think such thoughts? And about a werewolf?

Dan furrows his brows, looking away determinedly and internally calling himself the biggest idiot to walk the earth. It’s not like he hates the wolf, or any werewolves for that matter, the hatred is for the most part what’s expected of him when dealing with these specific supernaturals, but the sudden aching need to  _touch_  Phil and make sure he’s fine through physical contact is  _not okay_. Actually, it’s absolutely awful and Dan should be ashamed of himself. Not to mention that having a werewolf in his  _fucking home_  is dangerous. The wolf could very well lead his whole pack back here when he wakes up and inevitably leaves (which does not make Dan’s heart clench painfully, nope, not at all) and slaughter Dan easily. What was he even  _thinking_  bringing the werewolf  _here_? Fuck, he’s a complete fool. He huffs and smacks himself on the forehead, wincing at the pain in his arm the movement causes.

The wolf groans and all of Dan’s attention is back on him. His eyelids flutter, fingers twitch, and then his nose flares, clearly registering the scent of a vampire, and he’s up off the sofa in a defensive pose in a blink of an eye. He snarls, his fangs bare and claws out, but his face is not transformed, only the eyes are burning yellow.

“A thank you would be more appreciated,” Dan drawls from where he’s still sitting. He has to admit that his heartbeat is slightly faster, not that the wolf would notice, but he’s trying to play it cool.

“What?” The werewolf asks all confused, taking in the room and looking over Dan. He slumps back on the sofa, apparently deciding there’s no imminent danger, and leans his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes. “The hell happened?” The words are rather slurred.

“You were about to die on me so I took you to my place,” Dan shrugs a shoulder, hissing lowly at the pain. The wolf’s eyes snap to him, watching him intently. Then he scrunches up his nose and glares at the clip still on the table. His brows furrow as he glances back at Dan.

“How did you?..” He doesn’t finish the sentence, seeming completely baffled. The look intensifies even more when he touches his shoulder only to be met with smooth pale flesh. And Dan should really stop thinking about that because there’s no chance in hell that he’s going to dwell on sexual thoughts about a wolf, especially when said wolf is still in the same room.

“Took it off of one of the hunters,” Dan responds, keeping his emotions in check, not letting the least bit of any sort of feeling slip into his words.

The wolf lifts his eyebrows. His eyes scan Dan’s wounds and he looks over to the window to see that it’s still light outside which confuses him even more.

“You dragged me through the woods during daytime and you healed me after getting bullets,” he glares again at the clip, “from hunters who could’ve easily killed you. Why?” He looks adorable all bewildered and Dan wants to smooth the worry lines on his forehead. Wait, no, let’s not go there, bad vampire, no thoughts about touching the wolf.

“You would’ve died,” Dan answers not really knowing himself why he did. He gets up, takes the clip and moves it into the kitchen, as far away from the werewolf as possible, which is really not that far but Dan hopes it’ll make him more comfortable. And for crying out loud Dan shouldn’t be worried about making the fucking wolf more comfortable! He groans at himself as he returns to the chair. The wolf stares at him suspiciously.

“Well, thanks, I guess,” he says rather sheepishly, casting his eyes down. Then he notices the gashes on the upholstery, the foam slipping through them, and widens his eyes. “What happened to your sofa?”

“You happened,” Dan snaps, rolling his eyes. “You owe me a new one, wolf. Or a compensation in cash,” he adds, the corners of his lips lifting upwards.

The werewolf looks up at him, eyes still wide, but smiles in a heartbeat.

“I don’t suppose you’d accept a card?” He wonders.

Dan huffs out a short laugh and shakes his head, getting to his feet.

“You hungry?” He asks over his shoulder, going into the kitchen again. The werewolf still looks too tired and pale for Dan’s liking. And, okay, Dan really shouldn’t like werewolves in any way. At all. Ever.

“Sorry but I don’t drink blood,” the wolf deadpans still from the sofa.

“Idiot,” Dan murmurs but he’s pretty sure the other heard him if the scoff is anything to go by. “I don’t even have that if you did,” he admits. “I do have several sandwiches,” he gets those out of the fridge and unwraps the cling foil from the plate they’re on. He brings that and a couple bottles of water back to the lounge and sets it all on the table.

“I didn’t know vampires ate normal food,” the werewolf says eyeing the food as if it’s stuffed with wolfsbane.

Dan doesn’t dignify that with a response and simply takes a sandwich, leaning back in his chair. The wolf takes one too, carefully like it’ll explode in his face. He wrinkles his nose, clearly debating whether to eat it or not.

“Don’t like turkey?” Dan asks, amused for some reason.

“It smells of vampire,” the werewolf pouts, looking at the sandwich.

“Well, sorry that I didn’t have your sensitive nose in mind when I made my food,” Dan rolls his eyes. “It’s not like your smell is the most wonderful thing I ever experienced.” Which is quite true, the earthy aromas of werewolves are a bit too musky for vampire liking but Dan’s getting used to it after spending a whole day with one.

The wolf just shakes his head and takes a bite. After that he’s nearly unstoppable, the vampire scent no longer seeming to bother him, and Dan manages to get only one other sandwich before the plate is cleared even of crumbs.

“Why aren’t you healing?” Phil asks as he takes the water bottle and unscrews the cap.

“Not enough blood,” Dan nods towards the lone bag on the table. “I’ll get some more when it gets dark,” he says offhandedly, trying not to wince and squirm in place at how miserable being covered in burns makes him feel.

The wolf watches him, eyes skimming over the wounds, and then places the bottle back on the table. He gnaws on his lip which attracts the whole of Dan’s attention and that’s not good.

“Want some of mine?” Phil questions almost tentatively. And yeah, that’s enough to snap Dan’s attention back to him.

“What?” He chokes out, staring at the wolf like he’s insane because he clearly is. What sort of lunatic would offer his own blood to a vampire? Dan nearly smirks at his pun but doesn’t as this is serious business and he has to keep himself in check.

“You saved my life,” Phil shrugs, he wrings his hands together, however, which shows his slight discomfort. “It would be only fair if I paid you back. Of course, it’s not the same but, you know…” He trails off.

No, Dan really absolutely totally does  _not_  know. His mouth is hanging open as he clearly gawks at the guy in front of him, wondering if he’s an idiot or just has a complete disregard towards supernatural societal rules.

“What’s wrong with my blood?” He finally says, crossing his arms and pouting slightly. And really? That’s what he’s getting out of Dan’s astonished expression? “Is werewolf blood not  _good_  enough for you?” He actually looks insulted and Dan just has to scoff.

“You do understand what you’re saying?” Dan wonders. “You’re offering  _your own blood_  to a  _vampire_ ,” he clarifies so they’re on the same page.

The wolf rolls his eyes.

“Do you want it or do you want to keep suffering for hours until you can get more human blood? And how long will that take to work? Another few hours? My blood would heal you instantly,” he argues. And Dan thought he had seen everything on this earth before but he never even imagined persuading a  _werewolf_  to  _not_  give Dan his blood. The offer’s tempting, though, and somehow Dan finds himself caving. He tells himself it’s just because he can’t stand being in pain and being utterly exhausted anymore and not because he actually wants to taste Phil as that would be unimaginably wrong in all kinds of shapes and forms.

“Fine,” Dan rolls his eyes as if it’s a big chore for him. He gets up and crosses to the kitchen once more, getting back with a mug and handing it to Phil who stares at it with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed expression. “I’m not drinking from your vein,” Dan nearly snarls. That would be awful, being that close to the wolf, feeling his pulse under his lips, sharing that kind of intimacy. Dan shudders just thinking about it but it’s more from want than from disgust. Which, again, a huge no no.

Phil actually looks disappointed as he takes the offered mug. Dan tries not to interpret that at all and sits back in the chair. Placing the mug on the table, Phil leans forward, his left forearm over the cup. A long claw appears on his pointer and he slices through his skin, filling the mug. Dan has to contain himself with a lot of difficulty so he wouldn’t jump on the wolf and drain him completely as the aroma of that delicious liquid floats through the room, taunting the ever thirsty monster inside of the vampire.

“That’s enough,” Dan chokes out and Phil turns to him with a surprised expression.

“But it’s not even half the cup,” he says.

Dan snarls and the werewolf takes the hint. He lets his wound close and pushes the mug towards Dan who snatches it up greedily and gulps it down loudly not wasting time to appreciate the taste. Licking his lips, Dan glances up at the wolf. Phil watches him in fascination rather than repulsion which Dan thought would be on his face. Then the wolf cracks a smile.

“Told you it was good,” he laughs.

Dan smirks too and shakes his head, getting rid of the spell he’s been under. The wounds are already healing and he feels stronger and more energised than ever before. Apparently, wolf blood works miracles and now all the stories over vampire and werewolf feuds make more sense.

“Thanks,” Dan mumbles after a minute, feeling awkward for some reason.

“No problem,” the wolf shrugs. “Consider that payment for the sofa,” he grins.

“No way,” Dan shakes his head. “You’re paying for that in full with cash.”

Phil simply smiles at him for a few moments and Dan can’t stop thinking that he’s adorable and that Dan wants to run his fingertips down his neck, place his hand over his heart and feel as well as listen to it beating in his chest for hours on end. And, frankly, that’s more disturbing than the whole sexual thought thing because this is starting to involve some kinds of  _feelings_ , which no, Dan doesn’t do feelings and certainly not with werewolves.

“You should go,” Dan near orders, his voice flat, gaze torn away from Phil’s, brows furrowed.

“Oh,” the other winces at his suddenly and unexpectedly harsh tone. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he sounds guilty and ashamed and Dan has to look at him. He regrets that immediately, that seems to be a recurring theme today for him, as he sees Phil looking like a kicked puppy and has the insane need to change that with a smile.

“Your pack is probably worried,” Dan supplies in a softer manner, biting his lip.

Phil nods a couple times and stands up. Then looks at himself and blushes furiously.

“Um,” he chances a glance at Dan. “Do you maybe have a shirt I could borrow?” He asks tentatively, clearly not over Dan’s previous anger outburst.

Dan doesn’t answer, opting to rush to his room and grab the first shirt out of his wardrobe. He’s back in under two seconds and hands the garment to Phil who pulls it over his head and then not so subtly sniffs at the collar once it’s on.

“It smells of vampire, I know,” Dan rolls his eyes. “But I have nothing else to offer.”

“No, it’s fine,” Phil smiles sweet and soft. “It smells like you,” he adds as if that somehow makes up for the fact that werewolves hate the scent of vampires. But Dan doesn’t comment and just leads him to the door.

“Should I expect any friends of yours to stop by?” Dan questions, only half joking.

“What? No. Why?” Phil seems genuinely perplexed, though it dawns on him soon enough. “I would never betray your location to other werewolves,” he says seriously.

“Okay,” Dan agrees easily. And he really shouldn’t trust that what Phil said is even remotely true but he does. Oh, for fuck’s sake, he trusts a bloody werewolf. Great, that’s all he needed in his life, trusting every single thing a fucking gorgeous werewolf tells him and not batting an eye at how close they’re standing and wanting to get closer. Fuck his life.

“So, I’ll see you around?” Phil smiles hopefully. Dan nods with an answering smile and wonders what the hell happened to his decision to finding werewolves gross that he made not a minute ago. He got weak under the gaze of those breath-taking blue eyes pleading him to agree, that’s what happened. Dan sighs inwardly. He’s in deep already and it’s so not going to end well.

Phil leaves with a small wave and Dan closes the door before leaning heavily on it. He runs a hand through his dishevelled hair and over his face, groaning audibly. Why does this kind of shit only happen to him? Is he cursed or something? Or does the universe just extremely hate him?

Deciding to leave those questions unanswered and cramming all thoughts about Phil into a faraway drawer in his mind, he goes to take a shower so he doesn’t smell like werewolf when he goes to meet his coven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh silly boys in denial *sighs* But good job on Dan for keeping his soulmate alive :3 So how are you liking it so far? Anything in particular you’d like to read happening in this fic? Cos you know, this is not set in stone, I have the major plotlines planned out but the cutesy fluffy stuff can be arranged :3


	3. Chapter 3

Phil walks back to his flat with a huge grin on his face, thumbing the hem of the borrowed shirt and sneaking a smell of it now and then. He should totally be repulsed by the vampire-ish scent but it’s underlying with plain  _Dan_  so it somehow makes it okay. More than okay, actually. It’s welcome and calming in a sense Phil only ever knew from pack. Being with Dan, seeing him smile and relax at his place reminded him of the same feeling of home and security that he gets when interacting with other wolves. It’s like having your Alpha praise you and show affection towards you but somehow stronger. And that fact should be disconcerting to Phil because no one should be more important to him than his Alpha but he can’t find it in himself to care about it. All he wants to do is see Dan again, make sure he’s healthy and happy. A day ago Phil would have never imagined caring this deeply about a person he met not even 24 hours before, and a vampire no less. But right now it just feels  _right_ , feels like as it should be, like Dan is the one meant for him, as a friend, as a soulmate, as whatever, he just wants him near and he wants him happy.

Phil’s on some sort of a high as he enters his flat but stops abruptly, plans of how to meet Dan again flying out the window. The always lingering scent of pack envelops him. It’s thick at his home, pushing away at the sweet smell of vampire on Phil, filling his nose with the aromas of woods and earth and sunshine and  _pack_. He sobers up.

What in the world made him think that Dan would want to see him again? Phil’s a werewolf, Dan made it clear he hates Phil’s kind, so why would he ever be interested in Phil? Besides, Phil has his pack to consider. Having a vampire as a friend is on the top of the ‘Don’t’ list as far as his Alpha is concerned and Phil would never get his permission to hang out around a vampire.

Phil shakes his head, discarding of the borrowed shirt in the middle of his tiny lounge and heading into the shower to get rid of the vampire’s scent altogether before going to meet his pack; he really doesn’t want to explain how he got to spend a day with a vampire. But as he’s going through his shower routine, all he can think about is how nice and welcoming Dan had actually been, the thought of him wanting to spend more time with Phil increasing in credibility the more Phil goes over the events of the day. Also, Dan saved Phil’s life, for crying out loud, risking his own in the process and he totally did not have to do that.

Then again, maybe it’s all part of some sort of secret plan of his. Save a werewolf, get him to trust you and then… And then what? Phil stops as he’s shampooing his hair and bites his lip.  _And then find out about your pack and kill them all_ , his brain supplies oh so generously. Phil frowns. Dan would never do that, would he? He seems like nice enough guy and  _he saved Phil’s life_. But he’s also a  _vampire_  who are known for their cunning and violent ways, another part of him thinks. Which, okay, an overgeneralisation and Phil never  _actually_  met a vampire before so he doesn’t know jack from first-hand experience, getting all his knowledge only from tales and legends, but still.

Besides, he doesn’t even  _really_  know Dan at all. He could very well be faking all of the niceties and his hospitality to win Phil over, make him doubt his Alpha, which is blasphemous and rather sacrilegious and something Phil would never even consider doing, and get him to reveal some secrets or something. Gosh, why is everything so difficult? He thumps his forehead on the shower wall and closes his eyes.

Now, with Dan’s scent completely gone, he can think clearer. There’s no real need for him to meet the vampire again. Their paths will not cross over and Phil will live his life as normal, without distracting and admittedly gorgeous vampires fucking with his head. His brain also supplies what else the vampire could be fucking but Phil resolutely ignores it with a scowl. Because no. Just no to all thoughts about Dan and his plush lips and his extremely cute dimples and his enchanting smile and no. Phil totally stops right there. He decides to not even mention Dan, forget all about him as if he never even met the guy. Dan who? Phil doesn’t know nor does he care.

Except that he  _really_  does. What is Dan’s last name? How long has he been a vampire? Does he have a coven? What’s his favourite book? Does he play video games? Phil groans and thumps his forehead on the tiles a few more times. He’s broken the promise he made to himself after only ten seconds. He’s so screwed.

Sighing, the werewolf gets out of his shower and saunters to his room with only a towel covering his waist as droplets of water run down from his hair and onto his body. The phone he left on his bed this morning is blinking sporadically, announcing an incoming call. But before Phil can grab the device, it goes black. Nevertheless, he takes it and checks what he missed during his unfortunate day. Waiting for him are six new messages and more than a dozen calls, the newest one being from his Alpha. Phil runs a hand over his face; he’ll have some serious explaining to do. Just so not to worry his pack, he sends a mass text saying he’ll be at their Alpha’s in twenty since he figures that’s where everyone’ll be; the pack will have a need to stick together after such a crude attack on all of their lives.

While getting dressed and later when he’s driving to the pack meeting, Phil’s thinking of ways how to avoid the obvious – the whole pack probably having sensed how bad things got for him earlier and his miraculous recovery without involving Dan in the whole explanation. It’s not like he can lie to them since they’ll be able to pick up on it, besides he hates lying either way and he’s quite shit at it (a quality that he’s actually proud of). However, he can’t mention Dan because of him being a vampire might cause some complications, like his Alpha wanting to hunt him down no matter that he saved Phil’s life. So the only option is deflection. Phil could do that, he thinks to himself, nervously tapping the steering wheel. He could totally just avoid and evade any questions, answer ambiguously without offering major details. Yeah, that could work if Phil’s pack weren’t a massively intrusive and meddlesome bunch of wolves. Phil wrinkles his nose, not exactly happy about the upcoming onslaught of questions, as he parks next to a few cars and a couple of bikes in front of the house on the edge of the woods – a necessity since werewolves feel better when they can roam freely during the full moon which they spend with their Alpha at his house.

All his worries are momentarily forgotten when he steps inside. There’s a smile on his face as he takes in the smell of his pack, his Alpha, and the pure feelings of  _home_  and  _belonging_. A wolf is never as happy as when he’s close to his pack. And then he’s got his arms full of werewolf and dirty blonde hair in his face.

“Stupid,” Marie says as she steps away from him and hits him on the shoulder, hard. “We were so worried about you, you could’ve texted or something,” she’s frowning and her green eyes are full of hurt.

“Sorry,” Phil says with an apologetic smile. “I only got home about an hour ago.”

“Where were you before then?” Marie’s eyes narrow in suspicion, her nose twitches as she sniffs at the air, but Phil’s saved from answering as their Alpha walks down the stairs, a relieved smile on his face.

“Phil,” he sighs and Phil’s enveloped in another hug; werewolves, being extremely tactile creatures, love being reassured of their packs safety through physical contact, and Phil’s not about to protest against being fussed over by his Alpha as that makes Phil’s wolf purr in happiness. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Eric says, pulling away, his right hand still on Phil’s shoulder. “I got scared when I could barely feel you. What happened?” His brows knit in worry.

“Don’t make him stand in the doorway and tell everything,” Nathan, a guy with curly brown hair and a permanent smile on his face, chides the Alpha who also happens to be his mate so he’s allowed.

Eric makes a face at his boyfriend but pushes Phil towards the lounge nevertheless. The whole pack’s there, either sitting on comfy sofas and chairs or standing leaning against walls or furniture. There are thirteen of them in total, Phil and their human allies included, which makes them a prominent target in the hunters’ eyes; a pack this large is rare. As soon as their Alpha allows it, Phil’s covered in werewolves, everyone’s happy that he’s safe and unharmed. They get comfortable again with only Eric standing in front of them.

“So? What happened?” The Alpha prompts Phil again.

“I got shot with a wolfsbane bullet,” Phil shrugs a shoulder as if it’s not a big deal but the set in Eric’s jaw suggests the opposite. “That’s probably why the whole bond got screwed with as I was about to die,” he continues and Olivia, a red haired beta and Phil’s best friend, takes his hand in hers squeezing it lightly, a slight frown on her freckled face. “It’s fine,” he reassures her and the rest of the pack as he can feel their restlessness. “I got help in time.” And yeah, that was bad phrasing on his part, since all the wolves’ eyes are on him, questioning.

“Help from whom?” Ethan lifts his chin up in a challenge, his eyes narrowed. He and Phil never got along well because Ethan thinks he deserves to be second to Eric and not Phil. Mostly because of the fact that he’s Eric’s brother. But there’s quite a lot of bad blood between them, what with Ethan leaving the pack when a stronger one came by and then returning with his tail between his legs some time later when they screwed him over and made an omega out of him. That was before Phil joined Eric’s pack so he’s hazy on the details, though it’s obvious that the Alpha trusts Phil more than his flaky brother.

“Oh, please say some hunter fell in love with you instantly and saved your ass,” Seth, who’s standing behind Ethan while the latter sits on a sofa, quips up, a huge grin on his face as he stares at Phil. Seth’s the youngest of them, barely eighteen, and has the sharpest tongue which more often than not earns him glares from the rest of the pack.

“Wow, that would be just like Phil to pull some Romeo and Juliet bullshit,” Anne, sitting next to Ethan, drawls, bored, not looking up from flipping through a magazine. She’s quite difficult to get on with as she automatically hates everyone and everything but you can be certain that she’ll have your back no matter what.

Phil’s eyes go wide at her words and there’s a stutter in his heart. Damn, are he and Dan like Romeo and Juliet? That’s nonsense, they’re not even dating, they’ve met just this morning for god’s sake. Surely, there’s nothing between them. But then why did he react like that just now? And why does he feel the urge to protect the vampire from  _his own pack_?

He knows he messed up when even Anne regards him suspiciously.

“Jesus, Phil, say that you didn’t,” Olivia throws her hands in the air and hits Phil’s shoulder.

“No, of course not,” he stutters slightly, noticeably.

“If he doesn’t want to tell us, then leave him alone,” Kate rolls her eyes and Phil shoots her a grateful look and a miniscule smile. The corners of her mouth also lift up and she nods her head minutely. She’s an extremely secretive person and the only one who’s been in a similar situation to Phil’s. However, their Alpha’s word is the law and as it happens he doesn’t seem overly fond of Kate’s suggestion. But there’s an exchange of glances between Eric and Nathan and then the Alpha shakes his head slightly.

“Alright,” Eric mutters, arms crossed. “All that matters is that you’re okay.”

Phil sighs inwardly, glad and quite surprised he got to keep his secret for a while longer, and bumps Nathan’s shoulder in a silent thank you. The human smiles at him, patting his knee, before again directing his attention back to his mate. Sadly, Olivia doesn’t seem so eager to let this go as Phil receives a patented we’ll-talk-about-this-later look from her which only makes him roll his eyes.

Eric goes on finding out where exactly his pack mates have been after they got scattered and whether they have some observations about the hunters and the hunt in general. Phil nearly blabs that the hunters have been here for a few days, something he got from Dan, but bites his tongue just in time. Though, his suspicion that there are quite a lot of them gets verified when all the wolves confirm that there must be a couple dozen of the hunters if not more. Which, not good, not good at all. The hope of their pack surviving the raids dwindles by the second. Phil’s just happy that no one from his pack suffered wolfsbane related injuries yet and are now completely healed but he doubts their luck will last long.

“We need help,” Kevin, a wolf of few words, announces, mirroring Phil’s thoughts. He and his twin sister, Sarah, who’s not a were but who’s the last relative Kevin has and never separates himself from for long, joined the pack not half a year ago. They’re their newest addition and don’t allow themselves to express opinions freely because of that, especially Sarah, even though Eric welcomes input from every pack member. “Isn’t there another pack a few towns over?” He’s looking at their Alpha and Eric’s looking at Kate who casts her eyes down and shifts uncomfortably in the chair she’s sitting. Phil feels for her instantly. The beta had quite a romance going on with the neighbouring pack’s wolf a couple years back, that’s how she learned to be so secretive, but it didn’t end well.

Eric sighs silently and shakes his head.

“We won’t ask for their help unless we are certain we can’t handle this,” he states and Kate sends him a timid smile, the Alpha nods slightly in response. “In the meantime we have to figure something else out,” he frowns. Phil’s sure his Alpha instincts are telling him to protect his pack no matter the cost but they do have to approach this logically.

“Well, we’re not getting a truce, that much is obvious, so talking to them is futile,” Anne says in that unbothered tone of hers as she twirls a dark strand of her hair on her finger.

“We do it the old fashioned way then,” Ethan’s voice is full of determination. “We find out where they live and attack them when they least expect it.”

“Of course, your answer to everything is brute force,” Marie rolls her eyes.

“Violence doesn’t solve all the problems, Ethan,” Phil says at the same time and shares a glance and a smile with the female werewolf.

Ethan mutters something that sounds suspiciously close to ‘fucking pacifists’, Marie glares at him but smirks when Seth smacks him upside the head earning a growl from Ethan and stepping away with his hands raised, an innocent look on his face. The older beta is about to stand up and teach the younger some manners, though he stops in his tracks when Eric calmly says his name.

“I guess our best bet for now is to lay low,” Olivia suggests, ignoring the antics of the two wolves.

“We can’t just hide for the rest of however long the hunters will be here,” Luke offers with a slight frown on his face. He’s a quiet one too but hates inaction as much as the next wolf.

“And they won’t go away until they’ve killed all the werewolves,” Noah, Luke’s mate, who’s clinging onto the other wolf’s hand, mumbles and if Phil weren’t a were, he probably would have missed the words entirely. The pair of them like to keep to themselves, mostly because Noah, a human, is not very fond of his boyfriend being a wolf, more so of being hunted, and he doesn’t trust the pack quite fiercely as the wolves do.

“That’s true,” Eric nods, giving Noah an appreciative yet sad smile; he tries to make the human feel as comfortable as possible, mostly for Luke’s sake as the werewolf feels torn between being with his pack and being with his boyfriend. “However, we don’t have many options for now,” he runs a hand through his hair and Nathan leaves his seat next to Phil to go comfort his mate.

“We could talk to Charlotte,” Nate proposes, twining one of his hands with Eric’s and running the fingers of the other comfortingly up and down Eric’s arm. He’s also a foot shorter than the Alpha and has to look up quite a bit as he’s standing so close. “Her pack might be willing to help.”

“Yeah,” Eric breathes, leaning his forehead against Nathan’s. “Thank you,” he murmurs so quietly that Phil almost doesn’t catch it as the Alpha brushes his lips swiftly against his mate’s before standing straighter. “For now we’ll stay together and set up a perimeter around the house with pairs making sure it’s safe,” he finally decides and all the wolves nod in understanding of the order.

The pack relaxes after that. Well, the majority of them anyway. Ethan’s still glaring daggers at Phil and sends a growl Seth’s way but the teenager pays him no mind as he shuffles closer to Luke and Noah, and Phil’s quite certain there’s something going on between the three of them or at least Seth hopes there will be something going on but Phil doesn’t want to even think about how complicated that kind of relationship would be so he tunes them out. Anne puts a hand on Ethan’s shoulder, murmuring something in his ear, and yeah, apparently they’re together again; Phil has no idea how many times they’ve broken up and made up. Kevin and Marie join Eric at the other end of the lounge to generate some additional ideas for pack’s protection while Nathan only presses his hand on the side of Eric’s neck, a calming gesture for werewolves which Nate knows even though he’s human, and walks off to the kitchen, possibly to prepare food so the horde of wolves doesn’t starve. Phil wants to join them, it’s kind of required of him as the Alpha’s second, but he can’t make himself to do so. Besides, Olivia’s sending him serious if-you-don’t-talk-to-me-now-I’ll-kill-you vibes that he can’t really ignore. The only thing stopping him from paying attention to her is the fact that he has no idea what to tell her or even if there’s anything to tell. Finally, the redhair huffs, too impatient to wait for Phil anymore, and stalks out of the room, probably to help Nathan.

Phil’s chewing on his lip, contemplating his awful life choices, when his phone vibrates in his pocket. He fishes it out and sees a new message from Kate.

_Kate: what do you smell of?_

Phil blinks at the screen and then at the beta who only rolls her eyes. Yeah, Phil’s slow today. The only possible way for werewolves to keep their conversations to themselves when they’re surrounded by pack is to text each other. It’s a practice Phil rarely indulges in since he never had any secrets but Kate’s an expert in this field.

_Phil: Literally of nothing._

He frowns at Kate as he sends his response, not really understanding what she’s getting at. Glancing away from her, so as not to raise suspicion, though he very much doubts others think they’re not texting each other, Phil notices Sarah, sitting quietly in a chair, knees drawn to her chest. She doesn’t seem to be bothered by being left out of the whole pack meeting or the happenings after it. Quite the opposite, the corners of her lips are tugged upwards and her eyes are sparkling as she watches Kate compose a new text. Huh. Phil wonders how he’s never noticed that before. Interesting.

_Kate: exactly_

With that he also receives a pointed look from her, which, okay, he deserves that because he’s an idiot. Phil nearly smacks himself when he finally gets what Kate means. For werewolves smell is nearly the most important of the five senses and him smelling of  _completely_  nothing even though he, allegedly, spent all day in the woods says quite a lot. It means that he’s hiding something. Even after a shower he should’ve smelled at least faintly foresty but he was so nervous about them smelling Dan on him that he used up nearly the whole bar of unscented soap which eliminated all the traces of anything and everything. No wonder everyone was immediately suspicious of him. Ugh, he should learn to  _think_.

_Phil: I need lessons, don’t I?_

Kate smirks and Phil chances a glance in Sarah’s direction, her own smile now slightly more prominent at seeing Kate happier.

_Kate: i’m willing to teach if you tell me what’s really up_

Phil shakes his head at her, lips pressed in a thin line. He’s so not ready to talk to anyone about this. Not that there’s much to talk about anyway. He and Dan just met each other, and yeah, maybe there’s some supernatural spark between them that makes Phil want to protect and take care of the vampire but whatever, he can ignore it. It’s not like they’ll meet again anytime soon and Phil’s totally not going back to Dan’s place and he can easily forget about the vampire.

Only that it’s been two hours since he saw Dan and his thoughts are going back to the vampire more and more often. Problematic. Especially since those thoughts don’t just revolve around how gorgeous Dan is and what Phil would like to do to him (with consent, of course) but also around how he just wants to know the vampire better, find out his life story, be near him. Damn, that’s not good. Phil furrows his brows and rubs a hand over his eyes.

_Kate: that bad huh?_

Phil glances up and Kate looks like she understands his pain. In a way, she most likely does. Phil’s a bit hazy on the details of her affair with the neighbouring pack’s werewolf but he knows that she had to keep it secret for months, suffering inside from not being honest with her own pack, from betraying her Alpha’s trust, and risking everything she has for selfish reasons. No doubt it was a difficult decision for her and she fought against the feelings before succumbing to them only to be paid in misery and grief. Phil sighs softly; he can’t help but think that he’s going to end up like Kate, with his heart broken into a million pieces, if he ever starts anything with Dan. So he swears to himself then and there that he will ignore every tingly sensation and the warmth spreading through his body at the mere thought of seeing Dan, and will not get involved with the vampire, not as friends and certainly not as anything more.

***

Dusk falls heavy on the forest, blanketing nature with her warm embrace. It’s a warm summer’s evening with a slight breeze ruffling the tops of the trees. Aromas of various flowers and pines and resin dance around in the air, making the werewolves’ noses twitch happily. Here is where they belong, out in the woods and not in stuffy flats of the city with the stench of pollution clinging to their skin and the never ending bustling of people jarring to their sensitive ears. Here they can feel at ease.

Phil’s running the perimeter they set up earlier at an unhurried pace. The heady and familiar forest scents calm him down and clear his head; it’s easier to think now. He’s still feeling guilty about not being completely honest with his pack and he doubts the feeling will go away anytime soon since it’s in a werewolf’s nature to trust his pack and tell them everything and anything pertinent to the pack’s safety. Which, yep, he fucked up royally and if Eric finds out, Phil’s so out of the pack. Vampires are a huge threat to wolves and their whereabouts should be immediately reported to an Alpha, and Phil’s such a shitty second in command for not doing exactly that. But wolves are dangerous to vampires too and for some demented reason Phil fears for Dan more than he fears for his pack. Dan’s alone, as far as Phil knows, and Eric would not hesitate to eliminate him, whereas the pack has nothing to fear from a lonely vampire who, by the way, drinks donor blood and doesn’t harm people. In fact, he actually  _saves_  werewolves’ lives, apparently.

Phil’s upper lip curls up almost involuntarily, a growl escaping past his clenched teeth, when thinking about  _Dan_  being around  _other wolves_  and treating them with the same hospitality as he showed Phil. Huh. Phil stops in his tracks, frowning. That’s some possessive werewolf bullshit and he will stop right now. And how many times has he promised himself that already and failed miserably? Ugh, why is he so bad at this? He groans and continues jogging.

He has to somehow keep to his decision, Phil thinks. He has to stop his developing crush, he has to stop thinking about Dan, especially in werewolfy territorial terms, because Dan is  _not_   _his_  and he can do whatever he pleases with whomever he pleases. And Phil’s absolutely fine with that. Totally. Actually, as of now Phil will focus completely on his pack and will find a way to save all their asses from being slaughtered or worse by hunters and Dan will become only a distant memory to him. That’s a good plan, right?  _Right_ , Phil decides with a nod as he continues his perimeter watch.

As brilliant as the plan is, it doesn’t exactly help to distract Phil’s thoughts enough so they wouldn’t return to Dan every half hour or so. The upcoming two days are complete torture to him. Eric’s house is huge, yes, but that does nothing when the Alpha wants his pack to be together at all times (overcompensating for the forest fiasco earlier much?), which earns Phil a good amount of confused and suspicious looks when his pulse jumps up randomly and he starts fidgeting out of nowhere. There is a reason for that, of course, not that they know. Well, Kate kind of does and sends Phil sympathetic looks, while Olivia is extremely unhappy to be left out of her best friend’s life. But Phil’s head is just filled with scenario after scenario of hunters murdering Dan and he can’t control his body when it wants to jump into action and make sure the vampire’s safe. He tries to contain his emotions and thoughts, tries to fight it, though judging from the fact that even  _Ethan_  knows something’s up with Phil, he’s not doing that good of a job.

So, when not running the perimeter, Phil walks around the house, pestering the wolves and the humans. Nathan simply raises an eyebrow when Phil offers to help prepare food for their horde, not like Phil doesn’t do that sometimes anyway but there’s probably something in his voice or demeanour that makes Nate highly suspicious, though he does allow for the help only to shoo him away when Phil’s thoughts keep wondering and he cuts his hand for the fourth time in ten minutes. He avoids Olivia at all costs, not trusting himself enough to not cave in when she undoubtedly starts questioning him. Talking or even being in the same room with Ethan is also not appealing, especially when he’s making out with Anne. Which, really? Out in the open? Ew. Kate’s in the library with Sarah, teaching her some of the werewolf lore, and Phil can almost smell the happiness radiating off the human when he passes the room; Phil has no idea how Kate can be that blind to the other girl’s feelings. He shakes his head, sighing softly. Seth and Marie are out in the woods, on the lookout, Kevin and Luke are playing video games, Noah, as always, desperately clinging to his boyfriend, and Eric’s sneaking to the kitchen to, Phil guesses, spend at least some time alone with his mate.

Phil bangs his head on a wall, leaning against it. It’s only midnight and his shift doesn’t begin for another four hours, he’ll go insane here. So he does the only thing he can think of and heads for the door.

“Where are you going?” Eric asks as Phil passes the kitchen doorway. The Alpha has his arms wrapped around his mate who is chopping up some vegetables, not minding the huge werewolf clinging to his back.

“Thought I’d join Seth and Marie,” Phil shrugs a shoulder. “There’s not much to do around here. You  _need_  to get an Internet connection,” he makes a face. The last two days without wondrous escape from reality that only the world wide web can offer have been straight from hell to Phil, he has no idea how the Alpha manages.

“It’s not as easy as you’d think,” Eric rolls his eyes. “This  _is_  the middle of nowhere.”

“Excuses,” Nathan murmurs under his breath but both the wolves heard him perfectly. Eric huffs and bites at his shoulder playfully, Nate’s laugh rings in Phil’s ears as he leaves the house, a small smile playing on his own lips only to be soon replaced by a frown. As pleasing as it is to his wolf to see his Alpha and his mate happy, Phil can’t help but think that he’ll never have the same, that he found someone he  _could_  have it with but that it’s just not meant to be. His life sucks.

He makes it to the perimeter in under two minutes and catches Seth’s scent at once, the teen shouldn’t be far away. Phil follows the trail and catches up to him quickly.

“What are you doing here? Your shift’s not on for at least a few hours,” the young beta greets him. “Are you here to check on me?” He halts and puts his hands on his hips, a frown on his face. “Just because I’m the youngest doesn’t mean –”

“It’s nothing to do with you,” Phil cuts the oncoming speech with a sigh. “I couldn’t be in the house anymore. Ethan and Anne are nearly having sex in the lounge,” he makes a disgusted face. “The stench of arousal is overwhelming.”

“Reminds you that you can’t sex it up with your sweetheart?” Seth smirks, the smug bastard. And did  _everyone_  notice Phil’s weird behaviour? Is he that transparent? He so has to work on his poker face.

“No,” Phil declares and pointedly turns away, running off.

“I heard the skip in your heartbeat,” Seth sing-songs as he easily catches up to the older wolf, the grin still firmly on his face.

“You heard  _nothing_ ,” Phil snarls out the last word, his wolf is not happy about being called out by a beta that’s lower in the pack hierarchy, and usually Phil’s better at making him behave but the past couple of days have been stressful and he’s always on edge and he had to snap sometime. But Seth doesn’t deserve this, he did nothing wrong, Phil reminds himself, and not a second later sincerely says, “Sorry.”

Seth shrugs a shoulder but moves away from Phil by a few inches. And now Phil feels even worse because he knows what kind of verbal and physical abuse the boy has endured and that certain situations trigger him and he’s a shitty person for forgetting about that.

“Really, I’m not angry,” Phil tries again, looking as apologetic as he can. “It’s just been tough lately and I know it’s not an excuse but yeah… Sorry,” he repeats, gnawing on his lip.

“It’s fine,” Seth murmurs, not looking at him. “You do really care about that person, don’t you?” He wonders after a minute of silent jogging.

Phil just nods his head, wishing he didn’t.

*** 

All hell breaks loose the next night. The moon is crescent and the wolves still have a week before it goes full so technically they should all be in total control. However, Ethan, the idiot, Phil thinks frowning as he’s running through the woods at three a.m. with the majority of his pack, decided that he’ll just take it upon himself when he caught the scent of a hunter and left the perimeter without telling anyone. Now it’s nearly an hour later and Kevin, who patrolled with him, is riddled with guilt for Ethan’s irresponsible actions since the newest werewolf is thinking that it was his responsibility to ensure Ethan acts accordingly. That, of course, is complete nonsense because Ethan does whatever the fuck Ethan wants, and Phil’s exceptionally mad at the fool for endangering all them with his actions as they have to run around in the woods possibly filled with hunters in search of his ass.

“This is not working,” Olivia declares. “We have to split up and cover more ground.”

They all feel their Alpha’s restlessness at the mention of them running around separately, obviously still thinking about what happened four days ago. And no one can blame him. He simply wants them all safe and strength comes in numbers, however, they won’t be able to find Ethan this way, especially not since his scent has been masked and none of them can even feel him.

The werewolves stop, looking expectantly at Eric. The moonlight is spilling on the forest floor, illuminating the moss and tiny blades of grass in pale white. Around Phil, the wolves’ eyes glow blue, amber and red.

“I think it’s a good suggestion,” Phil interrupts the silence, using his status to persuade the Alpha. “Liv is right, it’ll be best to split up.”

“Man, that’s some horror movie shit,” Seth murmurs under his breath, worrying at his lip, he doesn’t find it appealing to be far away from the pack.

“We have to do  _something_ , just standing here won’t help,” Anne grits through her teeth. She’s fidgety and extremely worried, also rather unpredictable as her partner has gone missing and she might not be able to control her wolf right now.

“Alright,” Eric gives in reluctantly. “But we stay in pairs,” he adds with a flash of red eyes, Alpha’s command, not to be disobeyed. “Anne, you’re with me,” he turns to her, probably having thought of the same thing as Phil. “Kevin with Kate, Marie with Olivia, and, Phil, keep an eye on Seth. Don’t do anything stupid and please be careful,” the wolves nod at the order and, after another worried glance from their Alpha, run off.

Seth’s babbling next to him as the both of them move silently between the trees. His voice is below a whisper so it’s easy for Phil to tune him out and focus on the task. Besides, if it helps the boy to cope, then Phil’s all for it; he really doesn’t want to deal with a scared teen wolf.

“I didn’t even know Nathan could shoot a gun, much less that he had an arsenal of them. And with bows and arrows and knives? Guess that’s why Eric wasn’t so reluctant to leave him behind,” Seth’s musings stop abruptly. Phil curses his entire existence and wants to smack his own head against something.

Oh so familiar scent of vampire lingers in the chilly night air. It’s too sweet, uncomfortably so, but it makes Phil’s heart somersault and the butterflies in his stomach go wild. Dan steps into the moonlight, all ethereal and gorgeous and smiling shyly, eyes only on Phil. And fuck all the decisions and promises he made earlier, Phil just wants to poke his dimple or run his hands through Dan’s hair or hug him and never let go or kiss him. Either or all of those things, he doesn’t really care. And yep, he’s so in over his head.

“Hi,” the vampire says awkwardly with an aborted wave when a growl erupts from the young werewolf next to Phil.

Well, shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, nearly the whole of the wolf pack turned out gay or bi, oh well ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯   
> If for some reason you care, or I just didn’t explain it well enough, the pack consists of: Eric(alpha), betas(top to bottom in hierarchy) - Phil, Ethan, Olivia, Kate, Anne, Marie, Kevin, Seth, Luke, and humans - Nathan, Sarah and Noah.  
> Sorry that this chapter was very pack driven and with a load of OCs (I know hardly anybody cares for them but I felt it was important to establish Phil’s bond with the pack).   
> Also, silly Philly, you can’t just ignore a supernatural bond until it goes away *shakes head*


	4. Chapter 4

Dan wakes up suffocated by darkness. He should be used to it by now, he’s a night creature after all, but it still surprises him that his day starts when it’s already dark outside. The light of the streetlamps doesn’t actually pierce the thick curtains of the room, not that he needs it in order to be able to see anyway, but it would be of some comfort.

Running a hand through his hair, he sits up, having no clue when he fell asleep. The last thing he remembers is walking out of the shower, feeling the energy crash creeping up on him, so he sat on his bed and, apparently, went out like a light. However, the nightmare did a good job on ripping him out of unconsciousness. And he should be used to those too, there hasn’t been a night, or rather day, since he was turned that he hadn’t had one. It’s still as jarring an experience as the first one. He sighs.

A small source of light illuminates the dark room and Dan snaps out of his reverie. His phone. He grabs the device from the bedside table and checks the message. Of course, the meeting. Shit, he’s late. Dan quickly throws on some clothes and tries to make his hair look decent but gives up with a low growl after five minutes; his hands are trembling and he feels tense, still troubled by the nightmare even though he doesn’t remember the specifics. Willing his body to cooperate with him and calm the fuck down, he jogs down the spiral staircase and stops abruptly on the last step, sniffing.

An involuntary smile spreads over his lips and a sort of calm settles inside him at the earthy and animalistic aromas still lingering in the room, even though the wolf left a few hours ago. There’s also the barest hint of the scent of the werewolf’s blood as Dan hadn’t thought about washing the mug that Phil bled into. The vampire concentrates only on that scent, subconsciously inching closer to the cup still sitting on the coffee table. His mind suddenly stops in its tracks and all he can think about are Phil’s gorgeous blue eyes, his sharp cheekbones, his biteable collarbones, his kissable lips, and his kindness and thoughtfulness, and Dan blinks owlishly staring at the empty room. Fuck. He is not supposed to think about these kinds of things. And the werewolf’s scent is not supposed to soothe him, making him forget all about the uneasy feelings he has after nightmares.

Dan can’t help himself as he reaches for the mug, swiping a finger along the rim and catching the coagulated blood. Without thinking, he licks it off. Stale blood always tastes awful, Dan knows this, but the werewolf’s is still more appealing than anything Dan’s ever tasted. He’s hooked, he realises _. And that’s fucking why you don’t drink werewolf blood, fucking idiot_ , he berates himself mentally.  _Because it’s addictive, moron!_  But at least the peace that washed over him as soon as he smelled the blood has been explained.

Dan groans out loud and runs a hand over his face. He fucked up and he fucked up  _bad_. The only thing his little brain is capable of mustering up is  _blood, blood, blood_ , and it doesn’t have in mind any regular person’s blood either, it wants a werewolf’s blood, Phil’s if possible. He hasn’t had this bad control over his urges since he was turned, and Dan has to clench his jaw and fist his hands so as not to run out of his loft in search of the werewolf.

A few minutes pass as Dan breathes in and out evenly, his eyes closed, all his energy going into ignoring the lingering scent and taste of blood. Finally, the vampire opens his eyes and, as quickly and efficiently as possible, rinses the mug of all the traces of the liquid. He uses way more dish soap than necessary and the lemony scent attacks his nose, making him frown. But it had to be done, he doesn’t need reminders.

Right. That’s a good decision, he thinks to himself. Remove all traces of Phil from his life and move on. That’s what he’ll do and the fucking possible addiction be damned, he’s stronger than this. And he most certainly will not think of Phil again, he will not dwell on the memories of his enchanting smile, his soft voice, the sound of his strong heartbeat, or on the fact that because of Phil Dan smiled more during the hours he’s been with the wolf than during the entirety of the last year. Dan has no idea how Phil, a freaking werewolf, is the best and worst thing that’s happening in his life right now. And  _fuck_  Dan’s not supposed to be thinking about him! Ugh. He hangs his head, giving up on trying to take back the control of his mind as, apparently, Phil’s taken over his every thought. Brilliant.

After another groan at himself, he finally leaves the house, opting to go on foot to the designated meeting place. His mind is purposefully blank as he looks over people, gets lost in the scent of strangers’ blood, the sound of their loudly thumping hearts, the feeling of the heat their bodies are emanating. It’s relaxing,  _familiar_ , and Dan desperately needs something of that sort to cling to if he doesn’t want to lose his mind. However, it is a bit disconcerting that his inner monster is not happy with the way Dan deliberately brushes closer to people so as to get a better scent of their blood, rather it wants something specific, something Dan doesn’t want to give it. And, yeah, maybe this addiction thing won’t go away as easily as Dan thought but he’s going to try. He clenches his jaw and hurries down the street to the meeting that his coven has organised.

 _Wonder if the hunters’ meeting grounds are also in town_ , he thinks idly as he crosses the street. Maybe they have a location for such things in the woods where it’s easier to just up and go hunt the wolves. Speaking of wolves, how’s Phil doing? Is he safe? Did he get to his pack okay? Are there any side effects of him being poisoned by the wolfsbane? And if so, is there anything Dan could do to help? Not that he’d be able to do that when he doesn’t even know where Phil lives. Or maybe they could meet? Tracking the werewolf is out of the question as a possible plan for that as Dan’s senses are not nearly as good as those of a werewolf, besides the pollution and the people on the streets have already masked his scent. He could, of course, use some of his coven’s connections to find out where the Alpha of the local pack resides but that won’t do him any good; he very much doubts the Alpha would tell him where Phil lives, or for that matter that they’ll tell him anything at all before ripping his head off. So Dan decides to be patient, maybe Phil will return to him on his own free will.

Dan halts and frowns suddenly. What did he fucking tell himself not five minutes ago? Why does his brain not want to cooperate? Why does it insist on thinking about the freaking werewolf? Maybe that’s the newly formed addiction taking over. Yeah, that must be it, he just wants Phil for his blood. Though that wouldn’t explain the inane thoughts Dan’s had about Phil’s well-being. If he truly wanted only Phil’s blood, he wouldn’t be thinking about Phil’s safety, he’d be thinking of how to get what he wants. Which, apparently, is Phil. Fuck.

Dan studiously ignores that last idea that his traitorous mind supplied oh so generously. He wants only Phil’s blood. Nothing more. And that’s the  _truth_ , totally. Dan’s an addict and he needs some serious help. That notion is easier to accept than him actually developing a  _connection_  with Phil, or some sort of  _feelings_  for him. Ew, Dan doesn’t do feelings. He’s a vampire and he wants blood. End of discussion.

Besides, why would Phil want to see Dan again? How is he so convinced the werewolf feels the same supernatural urge Dan has to take care of and protect Phil, to risk his own  _life_  to ensure his safety and well-being? Sure, he and Phil didn’t shred each other to pieces at the sight of one another and they even had quite a nice and fun banter-y conversation, if Dan says so himself, and Phil gave Dan his  _blood_ , for crying out loud, which he didn’t have to but seemed eager to do anyway. However, they’re natural enemies and it’s extremely unlikely Phil’s Alpha will allow them to be buddies. And he’s thinking of the wolf again. Ugh, Dan’s an idiot with serious problems. The vampire groans at himself and then stiffens when another thought crosses his mind.

Phil’s  _Alpha_. Fuck. Dan absolutely forgot about the freaking Alpha. He’s so royally screwed. Phil clearly has already told the Alpha about Dan’s existence and Dan supposes that he doesn’t have much time left on this earth. Fuck his life!

The vampire staggers to a nearby alley and leans on the wall, sliding down it until his butt hits the ground and he can put his head between his knees, freaking the fuck out. The Alpha clearly won’t tolerate a vampire living in his territory, he’s probably already making plans on how to rip Dan’s throat out or something; Dan’s just glad they don’t know about his coven, at least they’ll be safe. Oh, fuck Dan’s entire and incredibly stupid existence. Why did he have to take pity on a werewolf and bring him to his place, where he fucking  _lives_? Dan smacks his head against the wall, looking up at the empty sky.

Wait. He narrows his eyes at the infinite void above him. Phil did say he wouldn’t tell anyone where Dan lives. Which, yeah, it’s naïve of Dan to think he’ll keep that promise but somehow he does trust the wolf. Besides, there was plenty of time for Phil to report back to his Alpha since he left Dan’s flat and he most certainly didn’t as Dan’s still in one piece. So maybe it’s not as bad as Dan thinks. Maybe the beta won’t tell anything to anyone and maybe Dan’s safe and maybe he’s having a mental breakdown over nothing. He huffs at himself and stands up, heading to the meeting place once more.

Of course, Phil would keep his promise. Dan’s an idiot even considering that he wouldn’t. The werewolf is obviously an extremely kind-hearted and sincere person and while they don’t really know each other, Dan thinks Phil won’t do anything to hurt Dan, he’s just that good of a person.

And Dan is not. He’s selfish and evil and has pure darkness flowing in his veins, and that is why he can’t let Phil go, can’t stop himself from wanting Phil’s company, from wanting his distracting personality to take over Dan’s miserable life and make it at least a bit brighter. Or, you know, just wanting Phil’s blood. That’s a good theory too. Preferable even.

His whole inner turmoil is forgotten as he stops in front of the building where his creator lives. The coven is waiting for him and Dan has no desire to meet with them. But a baby vampire has to do what he has to do, in this case report on his unsuccessful tailing of the hunters. Yeah, that’ll go over well. Dan frowns before entering the block of flats.

Natalie’s place is on the top floor, lavishly and unnecessarily decorated, and Dan wrinkles his nose at the smell of fresh blood that that hits him as soon as he steps through the door.

“Hello, darling,” Natalie, an inhumanly gorgeous dark-eyed and dark-haired vampire who also happens to be Dan’s creator, greets him. She’s carrying a glass of blood that she presses into his hand before throwing him a dazzling smile and waltzing off.

“Finally,” Jasmine rolls her silver eyes that contrast with her dark skin, making her look ethereal and sublime, and threatening. She’s sitting on a comfy sofa and graces Dan with a blank look when the latter enters the lounge. “How difficult is it to track a couple of hunters?”

“Should have given that task to me,” Benjamin says, directing his gaze to Natalie. He’s one of those vampires that looks terrifying, makes your hairs stand on end, even though there’s nothing particularly notable about him. “The boy is clearly not cut out for even that simple of a task.”

Dan clenches his jaw so as not to retort with some inventive insult that will piss the older vampire off; he doesn’t want to get into an argument tonight. He, not for the first time, wishes that his coven wouldn’t regard him as a nuisance and would actually care about him. His fingers grip the glass in his hand too tightly and the vampires in the room turn to him when it cracks, the noise too loud and too quiet at the same time.

“Oh, don’t mind Ben, honey,” Violet laughs, her sharp teeth glint in the artificial lighting. She’s younger than the rest of the bunch but still much older than Dan and she’s got authority and a soft spot for the youngest vampire in their coven. “You know that he’s just a grumpy old vampire.”

“What did you find out?” Michael cuts the crap impatiently, his blonde hair is slicked back and makes him look rather serpent-like. He’s a man of action and wants to get rid of the hunters sooner rather than later.

“Give him a break,” Natalie interrupts, curling an arm around Dan’s waist. “Come, sit with me,” she smiles warmly. “Relax and tell everything on your own time.”

“He had plenty of time to relax,” Michael snarls out, his shoulders stiffening against the fireplace on which he’s leaning.

Dan sighs inwardly. He’d so much rather be alone but knows that’s impossible. He owes too much to Natalie and he wouldn’t survive on his own, he needs the covens’ connections and support, as feeble as that might be. Dan’s extremely not fond of his coven but he’s loyal and would never betray them, especially not Natalie, he couldn’t just leave his creator. So he stays put, travelling wherever the others want, running their errands, and basically being a bitch to all of them.

Yeah, his life? Not so great.

“They were hunting wolves last night,” Dan says truthfully. But he vows to himself not to mention Phil, that little encounter is special to him, it’ll stay secret and Dan won’t allow his coven to taint it. And he will  _not_  think  _why_  it is so special. Nope. “I have no idea how big the pack is but they clearly attracted the hunters’ attention. And I think they came here for the pack, not for us,” Dan gnaws on his lip then. The last statement might have been true until last night.

“They saw you, didn’t they?” Jasmine huffs and shakes her head.

“I was careful,” Dan growls, not exactly happy they’re already thinking that he screwed it all up. Which technically is true but whatever, he’s allowed to be angry. “There were more of them then we thought,” he explains further, his fangs showing. “There might be a couple dozen of the hunters.”

“And now they know to look for vampires in town too,” Benjamin spits out, glaring at Dan as if the young vampire is to blame for all of the world’s misery. And, okay, fuck the whole not getting into an argument thing.

“Well, I’m ever so sorry my fucking stealth skills are not up to par with yours. It’s not like you had fucking centuries to perfect them,” Dan seethes. He’s tired of being treated like shit by people who should care about him, these snobbish vampires can go slowly starve to death from not getting enough blood for all Dan cares.

“You dare talk to  _me_  like that?” Benjamin stands up, fangs on display. “You pathetic useless creature, I should rip you apart for such insolence,” he snarls.

“Got any more of those adjectives? Or should I get you a thesaurus for Christmas?” Dan lifts an eyebrow, used to the threats by now.

“Oh, leave the kid alone,” Violet rolls her eyes, tugging on Benjamin’s arm to sit him back down. “He could’ve done worse,” she supplies, eyes glinting in amusement. “He could’ve gotten himself staked and then we wouldn’t know anything at all.”

Dan throws a glare her way, not exactly thankful for her awful efforts at defending him.

“Well,” Natalie’s tone is soft, calming them all down. “Now at least we know that there are a lot more of the hunters than we anticipated and that their first priority is the wolves.”

Right. That doesn’t make Dan feel  _any_  better because if their first priority is taking care of the wolves then it means that Phil’s in danger and Dan’s very much against it. His fingers twitch. He wants to warn Phil, though the werewolf already knows of the danger, but he still wants to do something to help Phil, protect him. It’s a curious urge Dan’s never had even with his own coven. Sure, Dan would help (grudgingly, mind you) any of them if there ever was a need but he never felt protective over them, never really cared enough. So this thing he feels for Phil is strange and difficult for Dan to figure out. It’s also quite unwelcome and Dan doesn’t like it one bit. Feeling connected to someone, even though Dan doesn’t know Phil that well, is something he hasn’t felt since he was turned. Now it’s back and Dan has no idea what to do with it; it makes him feel normal,  _human_. He no longer knows how to be that. One identity crisis coming up. Wonderful.

“Then we should let them take care of each other,” Jasmine suggests, popping a grape into her mouth. Dan’s barely registering her, immensely freaking out internally about the new development on the Phil front he just made. “If we’re lucky the hunters will kill off as many wolves as they can and vice versa. A great opportunity to thin the lines of our enemies without having to do anything on our part, in my opinion,” the corners of her lips tug upwards, showing how happy she is with her plan.

“I agree,” Violet seconds. “And later it’ll be easier for us to take care of what’s left and the city will be ours,” she smirks.

“Doing nothing is cowardly,” Michael frowns deeply, his arms are crossed and a near snarl forming on his lips. “We should get involved, fight them head on.”

Dan’s staying way out of the discussion. He’s still reeling from the idea that he’s connected to Phil somehow, that he  _cares_  about him, and doesn’t just crave his blood. In fact, he cares so much that he risked his own life to save the werewolf’s and now is more afraid for Phil than for himself or his coven when the threat of hunters is looming over them all. Such complications are not what Dan likes in his life.

“And how do you imagine that going down?” Jasmine raises an eyebrow. “There are six of us, more than two dozen of the hunters and who knows how many wolves. Such odds do not look tempting to me.”

“But we can’t just cower in fear,” the blond vampire is only barely containing his dissatisfaction.

“We won’t be  _cowering in fear_ ,” Jasmine scoffs. “We’ll be allowing them to annihilate each other. Two birds with one stone or some similar nonsense. And you’ll have your fight afterwards when we’ll actually have a chance.”

Michael grumbles something under his breath, too low even for vampires to hear. However, Jasmine’s words are not law. Natalie is the leader of the coven and she decides what their course of action should be in any given situation. So, naturally, all eyes turn to her.

“It is a brilliant idea, Jasmine,” she smiles softly at the other vampire. “We will keep to it for now. However, I will reach out to a few friends of mine who might be able to help with our little problem.”

Everyone nods in agreement, Dan a lot more reluctantly than others. He tunes them out after that and just stares at the food on the low table in front of him. His fingers are tapping a restless rhythm against the cracked glass in his hand; luckily, the others are used to his nervous tendencies so they don’t ask him any questions. Dan’s grateful for that small miracle because he has no idea how he’d explain that he’s extremely worried about the whole let-the-hunters-kill-the-werewolves plan since he’s, apparently, already emotionally invested in one of said werewolves. Which is disturbing, really. Being with his coven has made Dan think he’d never be able to form any sort of connection with anyone but now that Phil’s entered his life so abruptly and changed it all with only his presence, Dan entertains the idea that maybe he could even be happy one day. The notion is still one that doesn’t sit well with him. Dan being happy? Perhaps with Phil? Huh. Stranger things have happened. Maybe. He felt a lot more grounded and at ease ten minutes ago when he thought he was simply addicted to the werewolf’s blood. Dan feels a mental breakdown coming up.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Natalie murmurs gently. She’s all up in Dan’s personal space but he doesn’t mind it much as she’s his creator, after all.

“Am I?” Dan asks distractedly, going over and over the idea that he might want Phil in his life not as a blood bag but as something more. A friend maybe?  _Or something more,_ the thought crosses his mind, accompanied by images of Phil's lips and long neck and how he might look if Dan kissed him breathless.

“You’re hiding something,” the dark-haired vampire tilts her head to the side, regarding him suspiciously.

Dan stays completely still, not letting any emotion show on his face or in his body language; he certainly doesn’t need Natalie fucking this up for him. Not that he actually knows what  _this_  is.

“Can’t I have any secrets?” He wonders, tone blank.

“I’ve taught you too well,” Natalie laughs, amused at Dan’s closed off expression. “But you’re right, you are allowed to keep some things to yourself,” she smiles. But it’s not one of her soft smiles. No, this one’s darker, a warning that Dan will be sorry if his secret ends up hurting the coven.

“You don’t have to worry,” Dan lies easily, reassuring her. “It’s nothing important.”

“Brilliant,” Natalie grins again but Dan can see how fake it is. She saw through his lie. Shit. “Now drink your blood,” she offers offhandedly, shoving the glass that is still in Dan’s hands closer to his lips.

Dan nearly frowns at the suggestion. He doesn’t want to drink some stranger’s blood, it feels wrong after having tasted Phil’s, like he’d betray the werewolf somehow by doing what is inherent to a vampire. And then Dan’s jaw clenches because  _fuck his entire existence even more_. The thought of him being addicted to Phil’s blood was bad but this is on a whole new level of pretty fucking awful. Only vampires with lovers have such a reaction to someone else’s blood that Dan had right now; basically, it’s instinctual for vampires to want to drink only their lover’s blood straight from the vein as it is extremely intimate and bonds them emotionally as well as physically, and the thought of drinking others’ blood is repulsive to such bonded vampires even though their inner monsters would like nothing better.

Groaning internally, Dan wonders how the hell this happened if he only  _tasted_  Phil’s blood? It’s not like he had his teeth sunk into the wolf’s neck, or his wrist, or his thigh. Which, yeah, Dan would very much like that. The image of Phil on his back legs spread wide apart as Dan oh so gently breaks the skin of his thigh to taste his delicious blood fills the vampire’s mind.

And nope, totally no, bad vampire, Dan mentally shakes himself. This is not the time or the company to think such thoughts, no matter how mouth-watering they are.

He gets his mind back on track to the matter at hand. Dan feels possessive over Phil and might have some sorts of  _feelings_  for him. Not good. Natalie seems to be thinking Dan’s gotten himself a lover. Could be worse. Dan doesn’t feel even a pinch of guilt about wanting to have Phil all to himself as his lover and bond with him in the most intimate way a vampire can bond himself to another living being. The worst.

Ugh, his fucking  _life_.

Not even two seconds have passed after Natalie’s suggestion as all those thoughts whir inside Dan’s head, battling for attention; the wining one seems to be the idea of Dan drinking Phil’s blood (with consent, of course) and bonding himself to the werewolf. But that won’t do him any good at the moment so he discards it for later consideration.

“I’m not that thirsty,” he finally answers Natalie and feels the eyes of the rest of the coven on him; vampires are  _always_  thirsty.

Natalie only lifts an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything. She seems content that her theory has been proven and Dan’s just glad he’ll have her off his back for the time being. Let her think Dan’s got some human lover, it’s better than her knowing that Dan wants to get into a werewolf’s pants and emotionally bond with him. And Dan’s only known him for less than a day. Fucking supernatural nonsense.

Dan leaves Natalie’s flat an hour before sunset. He’s still extremely unhappy with their plan of letting the hunters roam around freely killing werewolves but he can’t exactly do anything about it. Besides, Phil’s pack should be on alert anyway and they’ll keep each other safe; werewolves are better at having one another’s backs than vampires. The thought soothes him a tiny bit and he just hopes Phil will be alright.

 ***

It’s two days later and Dan’s going out of his mind. Benjamin spotted a hunter near the neighbourhood the vampires live in and now all of them are on house arrest and have to report to Natalie every two hours. Dan’s restlessly pacing in his living room, tapping fingers of one of his hands onto the palm of the other’s. He tried to occupy himself with the obligatory and optional readings for the courses he’s taking online but with his vampire abilities it only took him a day to get through all of the upcoming semester’s worth of material. Then he distracted himself by playing videogames against other people but once again his vampire-ish skills drained all the fun out of that after a few hours. Cleaning also wasn’t that good of a way to waste his time as he scrubbed everything from floor to ceiling twice in as many days. Besides, that also completely got rid of Phil’s scent and Dan’s way more upset about it than he would ever admit to himself.

And thinking of the werewolf, Dan’s thoughts keep coming back to Phil more often than he’d like. They range from simply sexual, with which he can deal, to obnoxiously romantic and  _sensual_ , which make him smile as an idiot as his barely beating heart speeds up in his chest. That doesn’t seem to be a healthy thing, Dan thinks to himself. But most of all he just wonders if Phil’s alright, if he’s happy with his pack, if he too thinks about Dan and feels this weird connection thingy Dan has going on. It’s extremely frustrating not knowing the answers and not even being able to ask the questions. So Dan paces.

There’s a delivery of fresh blood on Dan’s doorstep the next night. He cautiously takes it to his kitchen and stuffs five bags into his fridge, leaving one of them on his counter. Tapping his fingers on the marble surface, Dan frowns at the bag. Sure, he’s extremely hungry, he’d never felt anything like this before, all his senses are on edge, mind doesn’t cooperate, tremors run through his body now and then, like during a withdrawal. Nonetheless, he doesn’t find the blood in front of him appealing. Which, troublesome, very much so. He needs to feed but he craves the blood of a specific person whom he can’t get to and it’s annoying and maddening as fuck.

Finally, the vampire clenches his jaw, breathes in deep so he wouldn’t have to smell the stranger’s blood, and rips the bag open. He manages to get a third of the bag into his system before he’s speeding to the bathroom and throwing the red liquid up into the toilet. Heaving, he rests his head against the tiles, eyes closed, stomach still feeling uneasy. Dan needs Phil. Desperately. Ugh.

The vampire opens his eyes and stands up slowly. After washing out his mouth, he returns to the kitchen and discards of the offensive bag that leaked the blood all over his counter. While cleaning the mess with a too strong scented bleach, Dan thinks about how he’s losing control over his life all over again. First it was with the vampires, now with Phil. When will he be strong enough to make decisions for himself, to rule his own life?

Apparently, not right now as his mind is consumed with only the thought of getting to Phil and feeding off of him if he doesn’t wish to die. And maybe it was never his decision anyway. Maybe this whole bond thing he’s been mulling over for the last three days is universe’s way of telling Dan his life is already planned for him, that he just has to give into his feelings and be with Phil, enjoy his company or anything else the werewolf would be willing to share.

Dan despises that thought and scrubs the counter more fiercely than necessary. He has no idea what to do and no one to talk this over with. He’ll just make it up as he goes and hopes that the universe’s plan involves a happy ending for him; Dan believes he deserves at least that if he’s got no control over his own life.

 ***

Dan’s making himself a sandwich when his phone vibrates on the coffee table. He’s not really in the mood to talk to any vampire of his coven so he ignores it; he's extremely good at ignoring things he doesn’t like. The vibrating stops only to start up again after a couple seconds of quiet and Dan groans, leaving the food and stalking to his lounge. Glancing at the device, he sees it’s Natalie which means something’s up if she’s so insistent. Dan still hesitates, gingerly taking the phone in his hand, his fingers shaking even more than the previous night. He seriously needs some blood.

“Yeah?” The vampire finally gives up and answers the call.

“We found out where the hunters are staying,” Natalie sounds urgent, tense, but Dan doesn’t see what this has to do with him. They decided to leave the hunters alone as far as he knows and he fucked up his last assignment so he has no idea what she wants with him.

“Okay?” He responds with a lift of an eyebrow she, of course, can’t see.

“I need you to get here,” his creator orders and rattles off an address that's on the other side of town.

“Why?” Dan wonders and Natalie huffs, apparently not impressed with his one word answers. Not that Dan cares, he’s still suffering from his crisis involving Phil and the universe and the insane need for blood. His eyes catch onto his sofa, marked by Phil, the filling falling out. Dan hasn’t had time to fix it. Or the will, really, as it’s the only reminder of the wolf Dan’s got. Man, he’s turning into some sentimental moron. The vampire frowns at the sofa and turns away. Yeah, like that’ll help.

“Half of them are going on a hunt,” the other vampire explains. “I need you to track them, see how they’re hunting the wolves, what kinds of weapons they use, and so on. We need more information.”

“Didn’t I mess up enough the last time?” Dan questions, biting his lip.

“You need to learn and this is a perfect opportunity,” Natalie’s voice is calmer now, silkier. “Besides, Violet will be with you. It was my mistake letting you go alone last time. Now you’ll have a teacher.”

Dan nearly groans at that suggestion. He knows Natalie means him well but Violet gets way too handsy for Dan’s liking when they are left alone. He’s not exactly fond of being groped without his consent by vampires with more authority who could easily rip his head off if he didn’t comply. Yep, Dan totally has zero control over his life or body.

“Yeah, okay,” he murmurs instead of voicing out his real thoughts. “I’ll be there in a few.”

As it so happens, Dan manages to keep his distance from Violet as they’re trekking through the woods two hours later. They’re tracking a party of about seven hunters when the older vampire suddenly signals for Dan to get up into a tree. He does as he’s told and crouches on a branch of an oak tree. Four of the hunters walk below them, dragging an unconscious body. Dan instantly tenses when he smells werewolf, all his instincts telling him to jump down and help, but there’s no underlying Phil in the scent so he relaxes. Still, it’s worrying that they managed to capture a wolf; Phil might not be safe. Dan has to bite his cheek to stay in place instead of doing something stupid, like running around the woods shouting Phil’s name.

“Track the remaining three,” Violet says lower than a whisper but Dan still hears it even a decent distance away. “I’ll see where they’re taking the wolf.” She doesn’t say  _and what kind of sick torture they have planned for him_ , though the thought hangs in the air.

Dan nods and watches as Violet noiselessly drops out of the tree and slinks off. He does the same a couple minutes later and continues in their primary direction.

The woods are silent. Light of the fattening moon gapes through the veil of the foliage lazily, not really trying. Only here and there can the pale moonlight be seen illuminating moss and miniscule blades of grass. It’s calming in a way. Well, at least it would be if Dan wasn’t aware that there are hunters lurking around, looking for a chance to splice someone in half. Yeah, not a comforting thought.

Even more distressing to Dan is the idea that they might hurt Phil. Sure, Dan’s still not over the whole debacle of being supernaturally connected to Phil, craving his blood as much as his company, and having no choice in the matter, but that doesn’t mean he’s not worried about the wolf and doesn’t genuinely care about him. At any rate, Dan thinks he cares about Phil on his own free will and supposes that only the primal urges of his are controlled while the whole feelings thing is up to him because if that’s not the case then Dan doesn’t think he’d be as kind of fine with the whole situation as he is.

His musings are interrupted when a familiar and comforting scent washes over him.  _Phil_. Dan stops in his tracks and sniffs. The werewolf has been here and quite recently. There are other scents of, Dan assumes, Phil’s pack members but that barely registers in the vampire’s mind as all he can think about is the fact that he might be able to see Phil after four long days. Without even considering how dangerous it might be, Dan jogs tracking the wolf’s scent.

Instincts kick in when Dan hears someone talking. The noise is quiet and he can’t catch the exact words but the voice is not one he knows so he hides behind a tree. Listening closely, he notices the footsteps getting closer to him and then stop abruptly. A familiar heartbeat fills Dan’s whole being and he throws caution to the wind by stepping away from his hiding place.

Phil’s standing there all gorgeous and ethereal, his eyes glow a warm yellow, hair even blacker in the dim light. Dan’s heart lurches into overdrive and he feels completely at peace, unlike the last few days. All thoughts about the whole connection thing being unfair and Dan wanting to retain as much control over his life as he can go out the window. The only thing Dan craves more than anything right now is Phil in his arms. And yeah, Dan probably should be worried about that as he doesn’t know the wolf, like at all, but he’s a freaking vampire and shouldn’t exist in the first place so he’s witnessed weirder happenings.

Dan’s smile is shy and soft as he regards Phil and makes up his mind one last time. Fuck the universe, fuck everyone and anyone. Dan wants to be happy and it seems like Phil manages to make that happen so Dan vows to cling to that no matter what.

“Hi,” the vampire says stupidly and raises a hand to wave awkwardly but startles as a growl rings through the woods. Dan’s not even noticed the second werewolf and now said werewolf is baring his teeth at Dan like he wants nothing more but to rip him apart.

Ah, fuck.


	5. Chapter 5

The moonlight spills across Dan’s features breathtakingly, making his skin glow slightly and look even paler than usual. His typically slow heartbeat now resembles that of a normal human, so basically it’s way too fast, and his fingers are twitching by his sides. 

Phil’s wolf whines at the distance between them even though it’s only a few feet, and craves the touch of the vampire. The werewolf, however, reins himself in and just stands frozen for a second. Then the horrified look on Dan’s face at hearing Seth growl registers in Phil’s mind and he’s pulled out of his reverie.

As Phil sees it, there aren’t many outs of this situation. He can try and protect Dan from Seth using bodily harm against his pack mate but the wolf in him bristles at such a suggestion; there is no way in hell he’ll harm the young beta. Besides, if he did put himself between Dan and Seth, it would send a clear message to the wolf too, and Phil’s not yet ready to announce to the world this weird pseudo relationship he has with the vampire. 

The other thing he could do is explain to Seth that he knows Dan and that he’s not a threat, far from it. But it will have the same consequences of Seth finding out about whatever it is that Phil’s got with Dan going. So he chooses secret option number three.

“This is Monroe pack territory,” Phil announces, voice nearing a fake snarl. He hopes to all that’s holy that Dan catches up on his plan. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” He pointedly looks at the vampire who has his brows furrowed in confusion.

Seth steps forward, he’s shifted into his beta form and seems to want to rip Dan apart. Trying for nonchalant and asserting his authority, Phil places a restraining hand on the wolf’s shoulder, pulling him behind himself, faking trying to protect him against the ‘bad’ vampire. Seth will be mad at him for this afterwards, thinking that Phil regards the young werewolf as incompetent and unable to handle himself against a vampire, but Phil will gladly take it if it means keeping both, Dan and Seth, safe.

“I-” Dan cuts himself off abruptly when Seth lets out another snarl. Phil glares at him, baring his fangs. The younger wolf huffs but gets the message and backs off, shifting back to human. Dan glances between them, clearly trying to figure out what’s going on.

“I’m just passing by,” the vampire finally says, tone flat, expression unreadable. “I didn’t know this was werewolf territory.”

Sighing in relief inwardly, Phil thanks the universe for making Dan one smart guy and playing along with Phil’s, admittedly, half assed plan.

“You didn’t catch our scent?” Seth questions like it pains him to talk to the vampire, arms crossed, face turned into a mask of revulsion.

“I was a bit preoccupied with the hunters running around,” Dan, for his part, is not taking the young wolf’s shit and flashes his fangs, growling.

“Well, now you’re gonna be preoccupied with our Alpha,” Seth smirks, clearly thinking of how much fun it would be to watch Eric rip Dan to shreds. Phil wants to throw up.

“We don’t have time for this,” he shakes his head, voice not masking how horrific he found the implications of Seth’s words. “Ethan’s missing, we have to get him back,” it borders on an order as Phil stares at the other werewolf who narrows his eyes suspiciously but doesn’t comment. “You can go,” Phil tells Dan; the vampire still looks blank as a sheet; coping tactic, Phil supposes. “But if we find you on our grounds again, we will not be that merciful,” he manages to make it a threat and hopes it was convincing. Phil knows he’s a shit liar but tries to put on a show for Dan’s sake.

The vampire nods, glancing wearily at the younger wolf, and steps back a couple paces. He halts, jaw clenched, eyes only on Phil. Sighing softly, he runs a hand through his hair.

“I saw the hunters dragging a werewolf with them not five minutes ago,” Dan says, barely above a whisper. Both wolves perk up at that but Dan doesn’t spare a glance in Seth’s direction; he’s doing this for Phil and the werewolf is immensely grateful. “They were heading north down a trail three miles east of here.”

Phil nods slowly, wishing he could shout how thankful he is and hug the hell out of Dan, but has the mind to restrain himself. Seth’s already fidgeting, having heard the useful information and studiously ignoring who it came from.

Dan gets the hint though. A corner of his lips tugs upwards in a barely noticeable half smile. He slightly tilts his head in a ‘you’re welcome’ and turns away, jogging into the darkness.

Seth doesn’t waste any more time as he heads east but Phil lingers.

“There are seven of them here tonight,” Dan’s whisper is quick and Phil nearly misses it entirely as he turns to follow Seth. “Only four of them have your pack mate and a vampire from my coven is tracking them. Please, be –” he halts for just half a second, rethinking his words and instead saying, “Please, don’t harm her.”

Phil faces the trees into which Dan disappeared, though there’s no sign of the vampire anymore. It can’t have been easy for him to admit to Phil that he’s got a coven and that one of them is also out here. Phil can’t promise anything, of course, but he’ll try to keep Dan’s friend safe, though it’ll be difficult if the whole pack spots her, he’s not sure if –

Wait.

Now there’s a coven of vampires in Phil’s Alpha’s territory? When did that happen? How have they been unaware that vampires (plural!) are living in their town? And Phil can’t tell Eric anything because that would endanger Dan. Who is a fucking  _vampire_  and, apparently, more important to Phil than his own pack. Ugh, he’s such a traitor and the worst second in command to ever exist in the history of everything.

Seth howls further down the path and Phil snaps out of his thoughts. Right. For now he’s got bigger issues. Namely, informing his Alpha about the new developments and saving a reckless werewolf’s ass from being killed or worse. All without letting anyone notice or, at the very least, harm a vampire that he doesn’t even know but who’s important to Dan, and without disclosing the pseudo relationship-magical-supernatural-connection-bond-thingy he’s got going on with Dan. Easy. Phil snorts. Yeah, right.

*** 

The clock on Phil’s phone screen shows a blurry 7:23 a.m. However, it might be blurry just because Phil’s not slept all night and has to rub sand out of his eyes. Nevertheless, he’s not driving to his own flat to rest for a bit before he has to go to work but heads the opposite direction, to Dan.

He’s been wanting to do this for four days now and as he comes closer to Dan’s block of flats, he gets more and more nervous without even knowing why. It’s not like this is some grand gesture or a proclamation of eternal love; it’s a simple visit to thank the vampire for his help, maybe flirt a little if he’s lucky, nothing more.

But when Phil starts climbing the stairs, after having parked his car a few streets away so that, gods forbid, no one would make a connection between them, his heart beats loudly and anxiously in his chest. He chastises himself, reminding himself it’s not a first date (it’s not even  _a_  date!) and he talked to Dan before, there’s nothing to worry about. Though easier said than done and all that. He sighs.

The first thing Phil registers as he raises his hand to knock on Dan’s door is the overwhelming scent of blood. That one was not there before and Phil panics for a second before remembering Dan’s eating habits; he’s probably just having breakfast. And Phil totally does not feel some sort of weird inexplicable jealousy over the thought of Dan feeding on someone else. Nope. That would be plain… well, weird.

The next thing, though, makes him doubt his first assumption. There’s a bang inside the loft and Dan curses loudly, sounding wrecked and heaving, and not in a good way. Phil’s pulse races even more at the thought of Dan being unwell or possibly harmed in some way. So the werewolf foregoes all the polite necessities and barges in through the door, following the sounds and scents to Dan’s bathroom.

The vampire looks positively awful. His forehead is clammy, fringe sticking to it, there are dark circles under his eyes and he’s a lot paler than even a vampire should be. Now that Phil thinks about it, Dan didn’t look that good in the woods either, Phil just assumed that his pallor was due to the moonlight and their exchange was too brief for him to notice Dan’s shaking limbs. But now that Phil can look at the vampire properly he can see all that and more.

“You okay?” Phil asks dumbly, berating himself at once. Of course, he’s not okay! He’s barely standing, for crying out loud!

Dan starts at Phil’s voice and glances at him with raised eyebrows. He’s gripping the sink too tightly, like it’s the only thing preventing him from dropping on his ass on the tiled floor. Dan’s heartbeat is too slow, reminding Phil of the first time they met, and there’s blood around his mouth, dripping down his chin, soaking his t-shirt. The red liquid also stains the sink, an open bag of blood pouring its contents into it as it hangs precariously on the edge of the counter.

“Yeah,” Dan nods, clearly delirious as a small smile plays on his lips while he stares at Phil. “Yeah, never better,” he repeats and turns around to turn the water on but his fingers are shaking and he can’t quite grasp the tap.

“Wow,” Phil breathes, coming closer to the vampire. “Thank god your performance in the woods was better,” he smirks carefully, turning the water on for Dan.

The werewolf’s help doesn’t do any good since Dan can’t hold the water in his palms long enough for it to reach his face so he could clean the blood off of himself. Phil watches his struggle for a couple of minutes; Dan’s face of utter concentration while performing such a simple task is mesmerising to the wolf. But he snaps out of it and lightly touches Dan’s upper arm. The vampire doesn’t even flinch.

“How about you sit down and I’ll help you,” Phil offers. “You don’t seem to have very good control over your limbs right now,” he tries to joke.

Dan tenses up at that. His jaw clenches and he sends Phil a glare, shaking off his hand.

“How about you fuck the hell off and stop being a condescending ass,” he snarls with all the energy he has left. “I’m in perfect fucking control,” he grits out.

Phil steps back, saying a ‘sorry’ and gnawing on his bottom lip. He simply tried to help and has no idea what made Dan react like that. The vampire saved his life, the least Phil can do is help him with this. Guilt squirms inside Phil and he doesn’t know what to do as Dan is still struggling and scowling.

“Dan,” Phil murmurs, soft and quiet. “Let me help. Please. As a thank you for your information tonight; it helped us save Ethan,” he tries a different approach. Maybe Dan will be more willing in a sort of exchange rather than Phil suggesting he’s incapable of doing something.

The vampire huffs but after a second sits down on the closed toilet lid. His eyes flutter shut as he rests his head on the tiled wall behind him. Phil knows how difficult it is for a supernatural to trust another one, especially of a different species, so he makes it quick.

Grabbing a towel, Phil soaks it in water and kneels besides Dan. He gently wipes away the blood from Dan’s face and neck. The vampire is still trembling slightly but not as much as with the exertion of having to stand.

“So,” Phil says conversationally. “What happened here? Bad blood?” He glances over at the bag. It was nearly full when Phil entered and now it’s almost empty, all of it went down the drain. However, the wolf didn’t smell anything bad about the liquid so maybe it’s just a vampire thing.

“I’m a fucking failure, that’s what happened,” Dan answers in a whisper, eyes staring unseeingly at the white ceiling. “I fuck everything up for myself and for others. And, apparently, I need a god damn werewolf to take care of me,” he laughs bitterly, biting down on his lip and nearly breaking skin.

“Why would you say that?” Phil asks cautiously. He’s already done with the cleaning but the repetitive motions seem to be soothing the vampire so he keeps it up.

“I can’t hold down blood,” Dan gestures in the general direction of the sink. “I should have known better but they’re right,” the vampire murmurs as if to himself. “I know nothing,” Phil nearly comments on the phrasing of the last sentence but bites his tongue; this is serious. “I should not be making my own decisions. Maybe it’s better that the universe takes control after all.”

Phil’s not really making sense of those ramblings. It seems to him that whoever ‘they’ are, they don’t treat Dan fairly if he thinks things like these of himself.

“Why can’t you hold down blood?” Phil asks the most relevant question first. Of course Dan would look like that if he hasn’t been feeding.

“I need y–” Dan stops himself, bites the inside of his cheek and gulps audibly. “I need a werewolf’s blood,” he admits, clearly ashamed of himself. “I’m a fucking addict,” he groans and thumps his head on the wall.

“An addict?” Phil’s getting tired of repeating Dan’s words to get more out of him. “Can you walk me through this? I don’t really understand.”

Dan sighs like it pains him to even think about it. His shaking fingers are tapping a nonsensical tune on his thigh.

“You gave me your blood, very gracious of you by the way,” Dan glances at him, still not commenting on the petting; they both clearly know it’s unnecessary. “For some vampires, me sadly included, werewolf blood is like a drug. So now I’m an addict and can’t hold down human blood,” he finishes emotionlessly.

Phil’s brows furrow and he regards Dan suspiciously. He’s never heard of this ‘addiction’ thing, he always thought vampires drained wolves so they’d be able to walk in the sunlight and not burn to a crisp. Admittedly, there’s some logic to it. There are numerous tales of how vampires still drank werewolf blood even after the bans were put in place so maybe they couldn’t control themselves. However, the werewolf is getting a feeling Dan’s not telling the whole truth about their unique situation and his wolf agrees but Phil doesn’t call the vampire out on it; he feels too guilty for being the cause of Dan’s new dilemma but there’s quite a simple solution to it.

“Alright,” Phil nods. “So I give you my blood, problem solved,” he shrugs a shoulder.

The last, and first, time they did that, Phil was extremely excited about the possibility of Dan so close to him, piercing his skin, tasting him. But Dan was adamant about drinking from Phil’s vein and the werewolf thought he was disgusted by that notion; not by the blood itself, of course, just by being that intimate with the werewolf. So Phil doesn’t push it now and doesn’t offer his neck. Which, weird. The first thing Phil thought to offer Dan is his neck; to a werewolf that equals submission, trust, and Phil really didn’t know he was in  _that_  stage with Dan already.

The wolf shakes those thoughts out of his head. He needs to help Dan and then he can think, rethink and overthink all that he regarded as constant and safe. Throwing the towel aside, Phil gets up.

“Wait, no,” Dan’s shaking his head, trying to grab hold of Phil. “It won’t… This doesn’t… I don’t…” He doesn’t finish any of those sentences before huffing and letting his hand fall from where it hung mid-air, nodding slightly as he purses his lips, obviously not happy with the decision but having no other options.

“I’ll be right back,” Phil tells him uselessly, just to assure the vampire that he’s not going to leave him to deal with this alone.

The werewolf hunts down a cup in the kitchen and places it on the counter. Like the last time, he extends his claw and slashes his arm open. The ruby liquid drips into the mug slowly and Phil has to concentrate to keep his healing abilities at bay so the wound wouldn’t close. This distresses his wolf greatly and it wants to get out, make Phil shift and face the danger. But there is no danger and Dan needs this, he reminds his wolf and that quietens it down slightly.

Phil carries the cup back to the bathroom where Dan’s still sitting on the toilet lid, completely uninterested in the happenings of the world. However, he perks up as Phil steps through the threshold and his eyes zero in on the mug. The vampire makes grabby hands at Phil and the werewolf can’t contain his smile. Dan gulps it down quickly, closing his eyes and actually  _moaning_  as the liquid slides down his throat. Phil has to clear his own throat and will the blush rising on his cheeks away as he looks anywhere but the vampire.

“Thanks,” Dan murmurs in a strange tone.

“No problem,” Phil has a hard time not glancing at Dan as he notices that the vampire has his eyes shut. He looks kind of blissed out, a small smile playing on his lips, his heartbeat steadying and the slight rosiness returning to his cheeks. The werewolf nearly sighs in relief as the vampire seems to be getting progressively better.

“Shit,” Dan says suddenly, looking down at himself. “I need to change my shirt,” he frowns peeling the blood soaked piece of clothing off of his chest. And Phil totally doesn’t stare. Nope.

“Yeah, and I should…” Phil trails off, rubbing the back of his neck, eyes not meeting Dan’s. He makes to move for the door.

“You’ll stay for a bit, right?” The brunet is suddenly closer than Phil realised, he didn’t even notice the vampire standing up.

Phil glances up. Dan seems to be oddly hopeful, staring at him with those big brown eyes framed by long lashes, and how on earth could Phil say no to that? So, obviously, he nods, justifying it on the fact that he hasn’t thanked Dan properly for his help and Phil’s nothing if not grateful.

“Good,” there’s another smile lighting up Dan’s face. “Make yourself at home,” he gestures at the loft as he slips past Phil to head to his room, which, Phil supposes, is up the spiral staircase. “There’s food in the fridge if you’re hungry,” he throws over his shoulder before jogging up the stairs.

The werewolf takes Dan up on his offer and goes to the kitchen to raid the fridge. His inner wolf purrs in contentment at how domestic and natural this all feels but Phil chooses to ignore the little bastard in favour of making himself tea and a sandwich. On second thought, he calls out to Dan asking if he wants anything. After getting the affirmation that he’ll have what Phil’s having, the wolf sets out to make another cuppa and more food.

As Phil’s putting all the products back in their respective places, he notices the bags of blood on the top shelf of the fridge. Right. Dan can’t drink those anymore because Phil stupidly ruined it all for him by offering his own blood and making an addict out of the vampire. 

Phil gnaws on his lip, fingers tapping at the doors of the open fridge. He has to think of something so that Dan wouldn’t have to go through the recent experience ever again; Phil doesn’t think throwing up blood is anyone’s idea of a good time. Maybe he could do the whole donor thing, stick a needle in his vein and leech himself a bit, providing Dan with a couple bags that would last him a week or so. The problem arises with where to get the equipment to do that and Phil’s sudden desire and need to see Dan more than once a week. Instead he could just visit Dan daily (nightly?) and do the whole mug routine. That seems more appealing.

“If you found the answers to all of universes mysteries in my fridge, you have to share that with me,” Dan says lightly as he appears next to Phil.

The werewolf blinks a couple times, extremely happy to see Dan looking healthy and smiley.

“I was just thinking,” Phil closes the doors and faces the vampire. “What are we going to do about your feeding situation?” He instantly regrets the question as Dan’s face falls and the mask of indifference is back in place. 

Alright, so Dan doesn’t take well to his weaknesses being talked about so straightforwardly. Good to know. Sadly, the damage is already done as the vampire steps back and crosses his arms over his chest.

“ _We_  don’t have to do anything,” his tone is blank, Phil wants the snarky sarcastic Dan back. “I’ll figure it out,” he looks away, eyes skimming over the food and the brewing tea on the counter.

“Yeah, there are so many werewolves willing to give vampires their blood,” Phil rolls his eyes; he can be an ass too. “I’m sure you’ll manage just fine,” he turns around, snatching a sandwich and trying not to swallow it in one bite as that would be rude.

Dan purses his lips and sends a glare Phil’s way. But he really doesn’t have any other available choices, as Phil sees it. His pack are the only wolves in a hundred miles radius and they wouldn’t be happy knowing Phil’s a willing blood bag for a vampire to enjoy, not to even mention their feelings if they got a suggestion to be a vampire’s dinner. So, really, Dan’s stuck.

“Fine,” the vampire huffs almost inaudibly over Phil’s munching but the wolf is not surprised, Dan’s a logical being. “But only until I figure out how to get rid of this,” he takes his cup of tea, sending it a death glare.

“Like what?” Phil slurps out if his own mug and Dan scrunches up his nose; yeah, as if he wasn’t the one who vomited up blood all over himself ten minutes ago. “Is there some sort of vampire rehab?” He bites half of another sandwich and lifts an eyebrow at Dan.

“No,” the vampire rolls his eyes. “I’ll consult some witches, maybe they’ll know something,” he shrugs a shoulder.

“Alright,” Phil nods. He’s not exactly happy about the thought of Dan no longer needing him even if he had only minutes to entertain the idea of Dan needing him in the first place. “So when do you want me?” He asks instead. There’ll have to be a lot of sneaking around, at least on Phil’s part, and even more secret keeping and lies. Hopefully, Kate will give him some pointers on how to keep the pack from finding out about this.

The brunet splutters and chokes on his tea, coughing loudly. Phil just raises an eyebrow before repeating the events in his mind and blushing wildly.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” He near growls into his cup as he avoids Dan’s eyes, focusing on showing his indignation rather than embarrassment. 

Phil really was not offering himself up in  _that_  kind of way but it’s not like he’d be opposed to that. Which, not news, though Dan’s reaction proved he’s not exactly interested in such offers anyway.

“I know, I know,” the vampire nods frantically, voice still rough and doing all kinds of things to Phil, all kinds of arousing things with accompanying thoughts of Dan sounding like that  _underneath_  Phil, preferably in a bed. Ugh, he has to control himself. “It just caught me off-guard,” he gulps more tea and they stand in awkward silence for a few seconds.

“So,” Phil finally clears his throat, his mind purposefully blank of the previous thoughts, he can think about those later. And yeah, he most definitely will. Damn, he’s already done for. “We should set up a schedule or something,” this time he’s way more aware of his words. “I know my pack won’t be thrilled if they find out about us and I’m assuming your coven wouldn’t be either,” Dan just nods, brows furrowed. “So we need to set up times to work around.”

“It doesn’t have to be so complicated,” Dan says in a clipped tone, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. He still seems to not be extremely thrilled with the idea of drinking Phil’s blood daily but whatever, Phil can deal with that. “It should be enough for you to come here every week,” his dedication to not meet Phil’s gaze is astounding. The werewolf gets that this might be tough for Dan to talk about but really? It’s not like Phil’s offering him to set up an orgy in his loft.

“Yeah, you didn’t seem very good when I got here and it’s only been four days since you last drank my blood so I’m not taking your word for it,” Phil sends him a pointed look but the vampire is oblivious as he stares at the floor. “So I’ll be here tonight,” the wolf decides, taking control over the situation like his instincts have been suggesting, “let’s say around ten? That way you’ll have time to prepare for your nightly meetings with your coven and my pack shouldn’t need me that late. Deal?” He extends a hand to Dan, an open expression on his face. They may have started on the wrong foot but now that Phil’s completely aware and kind of accepting of his feelings, he thinks it would be a good idea to start playing nice.

The vampire hesitates for a second, gnawing on his bottom lip. And Phil should really not find that extremely distracting and should not stare at Dan’s mouth with his own hanging open but he can’t help himself. It’s not his fault the guy is some sort of otherworldly being whose every move captures Phil’s attention and every body part deserves constant praises sung about it.

Hmm. That might’ve been a bit over the top. Not so poetically, Dan’s hot and Phil can’t keep it in his pants. Slightly problematic given their circumstances but Phil’s got plenty of experience with restraining himself from giving into his urges so he should be fine. Hopefully.

Finally, Dan extends his hand and his cold fingers press into Phil’s, making the werewolf shudder. As far as Phil remembers, they haven’t yet had skin on skin contact, at least not while Phil was conscious, so the feeling leaves the wolf a bit baffled. There’s no electricity running between them nor any sparks or anything of the sort like he expected. It’s more of an intense calm settling over Phil, the feeling of home and belonging, like with pack.

They lock eyes, breath in in unison. Phil wonders if Dan’s feeling the same serenity that he is. By the vampire’s slightly confused expression, Phil supposes that yes, he is. The coldness of Dan’s skin doesn’t really bother Phil but he’s sure his own heat is a bit much for the vampire. However, they both hold on for longer than necessary, Dan’s fingertips run lightly over the pulse point on Phil’s wrist. Phil’s inner wolf wants more,  _needs_  more; it howls, demanding Phil to get the vampire closer, physically mark him as theirs.  _Not yet_ , is Phil’s only answer to that suggestion.

“Dude, you run really hot,” Dan murmurs after what seems like hours and breaks the spell.

Phil just rolls his eyes, extracting his hand from the vampire’s grip.

“And you’re an ice block,” he retorts without any real heat behind the words.

“At least I don’t sprout fur all over my face on the full moon,” the vampire shrugs a shoulder, a small smirk on his face.

“Do you really want to insult your only food source right now?” Phil lifts an eyebrow and at Dan’s glare smiles sheepishly. “Too soon?”

The vampire scoffs and shakes his head. They slurp their teas and eat more sandwiches in comfortable silence. Phil thinks he could get used to this, having someone else to interact with other than his pack. It’s different, fun, and he doesn’t have to constantly worry about someone overhearing them.

“Did you save your pack mate?” Dan asks after a few minutes, looking genuinely interested. He’s washing the few dishes they used, having refused Phil’s help after claiming that the werewolf already made them food so it’s only fair that Dan cleans up.

“Yeah,” Phil nods his head. He already told Dan that but the vampire was probably too out of it to remember it now. “He was tied to a tree when we got there, no hunters in sight,” the wolf chews on his lip recalling the scene. “Our Alpha thinks it might have been some sort of a test or something, maybe they’re looking for our weak spots.”

“And how did your Alpha react to the news that a vampire crossed your border?” Dan asks cautiously, glancing at Phil for a second.

“He wasn’t pleased, of course,” Phil grimaces. He vividly remembers how growly Eric got and how Phil felt like the absolute worst when the Alpha yelled at him; it’s never pleasant for a werewolf to be the reason that his Alpha is disappointed and angry. Phil wanted to tuck his invisible tail between his legs and roll over on his belly to show submissiveness. He chose to just whine while the whole pack watched and tried to explain himself; good thing Eric’s one of the most reasonable people Phil knows, with any other Alpha he would have gotten a chunk bitten out of him and his rank diminished. Now he only got a scolding, albeit a harsh one.

“But don’t worry,” the werewolf continues. “Your friend was gone by the time we got there so everyone still doesn’t know there’s a vampire coven in town,” which displeases Phil greatly as he’s inherently obliged to be as open with his pack as possible and he already feels how this secret is eating at him. Which, for the record, is an immensely shitty feeling. But he’s also got an obligation to Dan and that makes everything too complicated for Phil’s liking; blurred trust lines are not his expertise.

“Thanks for that,” Dan murmurs, drying off a plate. “I know you don’t have to do that so… yeah, thanks,” he doesn’t look at Phil so he misses Phil’s dopey grin. The werewolf would do anything to see this embarrassed Dan whose heart is thumping faster than normal with nerves and a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

“I should probably go,” Phil says as Dan’s finishing with the dishes. “I have an anxious Alpha to call and a life to get back to. Plus I haven’t slept in like 24 hours,” a yawn breaks Phil’s face as he speaks those words and he’s once again reminded of the actual need to sleep.

“Yeah,” the vampire hums, looking Phil up and down. “You totally could use some beauty sleep.”

“Oh, hilarious,” Phil rolls his eyes but he’s smiling. “Do you want to lend me your coffin for that?”

“Sure, sure,” Dan nods, a serious expression on his face. “But we have to take you for a walk first. Wouldn’t want any accidents happening,” he smirks then, a full blown shit-eating grin.

“Dog jokes? Really? I’m disappointed,” Phil sighs and shakes his head.

“Oh, but I don’t have a leash,” Dan gnaws on his lip as if the revelation disturbs him deeply. “You don’t carry one around with you, do you?” He bats his eyelashes at Phil.  _Gorgeous_ , is the only word on Phil’s mind, he doesn’t even mind the teasing.

“Leashes?” Phil lifts an eyebrow. “What’s next? Collars? Cuffs? I’m not sure our kinks match, Dan,” he immensely enjoys as those brown eyes widen in surprise and how Dan laughs out loud, sounding a bit like a hyena. The sound is still the single most beautiful thing Phil’s ever heard. The werewolf smiles.

“Well, we’ll have to do some negotiation then,” and he actually winks at Phil, the bastard.

“This conversation is going to weird places and I’m late,” the wolf glances at the clock on the microwave, showing that it’s past nine, so if he doesn’t hurry up, he’ll miss his shift. “See you later tonight, Nosferatu,” he throws over his shoulder as he heads for the door.

“Oh, it’s on, Spot,” Dan calls after him and Phil grins the whole way to work, not even minding that he’ll have to run on zero sleep the whole day.


	6. Chapter 6

It’s exactly thirteen after eleven on a Monday night and Dan’s pacing in his living room and drumming the fingers of his left hand against the palm of his right. He stops suddenly when he hears shuffling in the corridor and holds his breath for a second. However, the heartbeat is not the one he’s waiting for and he huffs in annoyance starting the back and forth again. The vampire gnaws on his lip and tries to avoid focusing on worst case scenarios running through his mind.

He should’ve already been here. Phil said he’d be at Dan’s around ten but it’s been an hour and the brunet can’t help the worry squirming in his gut. It’s quite reasonable that something might have happened to the werewolf since hunters are plentiful around town these days.

What is not so reasonable is Dan’s concern for Phil. Sure, the vampire is, as of this morning, completely aware of his newly developed feelings for the werewolf and is accepting them. Kind of. That’s not the point. The point is that they’ve only known each other for five days and have talked like four times. And Dan’s not an expert in relationships or anything but he’s pretty sure that he shouldn’t be that invested in Phil yet.

Which, of course, brings back the whole confusion of his supposed magic-supernatural-bond-thingy with Phil and whether he chose this for himself or if he had no say in this and the universe just decided to fuck up his life by making him fall for a werewolf.

And let’s stop right there. Dan frowns, stopping physically too.

Has he already fallen for Phil? He certainly has _feelings_ (ew, especially since they’re _romantic_ feelings) for Phil. But how do you even know when you’re in love? Surely, that can’t have happened yet; Dan _doesn’t even know him_. It’s only the shitty supernatural connection fucking with his emotions, making him believe Phil’s the one and only for him. Dan’s not even sure if it’s really _him_ who feels this way.

Ugh, being manipulated into a relationship by the unknown powers of the supernatural is fucking confusing. Having no choice in the matter doesn’t help Dan’s mental state either.

However, he can’t really ignore the rise of his pulse as he hears the familiar heartbeat approaching or the calm that washes over him when Phil enters his flat or the ‘finally’ that passes as a sigh through his lips. It’s as if all’s well in the world and the vampire’s mind is finally at peace, the worries leaving him at once and a smile spreading on his face. There’s still that thought of this not being real and forced that gnaws at the back of Dan’s mind but it’s difficult to let it consume him when Phil’s right there and smiling back.

“You’re late,” Dan accuses, smile disappearing abruptly, and crosses his arms. And if he pouts and acts like a petulant child, well then it’s nobody’s business but his.

“Sorry,” Phil says sheepishly, rubbing at the nape of his neck. “Fell asleep when I got back from work. Woke up, like, ten minutes ago and got here as soon as I could.”

“We need to exchange phone numbers,” the vampire suggests. There’s a whole room between them still and Dan doesn’t know how to change that without seeming too eager to be near the wolf. “So I wouldn’t worry if you don’t show up on time.”

“Aw, you were worried about me?” The werewolf grins. Dan frowns at him.

“You’re my only blood supply. Of course I’m going to worry you’ll get snatched by hunters and leave me to starve,” Dan explains, voice void of anything. As if _he’s_ going to be the one to admit to his feelings; over his dead body. Which, yeah, he’s already dead, technically. But whatever, he’s still keeping his mouth shut about the whole connection thing that’s going on at least on his side.

Phil rolls his perfectly blue eyes.

“I feel so appreciated,” he deadpans and purses his lips. Though he heads to the kitchen nevertheless and Dan counts it as a win.

The vampire cautiously approaches the wolf as the latter is rummaging through a cabinet and is, assumingly, looking for a cup. Dan’s not gracious enough to tell him that the cupboard contains only plates. Standing closer than he would have dared when they first met, Dan inhales the comforting scent of earth, pine and…sugar? Flour? And is that vanilla and cinnamon?

“Oh my god,” Dan snickers and Phil turns to him, quirking an eyebrow. “You’re a baker,” the brunet grins.

“Yeah, I work in a bakery, so?” Phil doesn’t seem amused.

“It’s just you…” Dan waves over Phil’s general person. “And the baking…” He shakes his head, still smiling. The image of Phil in an apron with flour all over his face and in his black hair makes Dan beam even harder and fills him up with fondness.

“I’ll take that as a good thing,” the wolf points at Dan’s face but a corner of his lips is curling upwards so he’s not really insulted.

“You’ll so have to bake me something,” the vampire nearly claps his hands at his brilliant idea. Or they could bake together. Dan wouldn’t mind spending some quality time with Phil when not using him for lunch and not meeting him in the woods with hunters all around. It might be a nice change.

“Isn’t my blood enough for you?” Phil sighs. Dan presumes it’s with faux weariness so he snarks right back.

“I saved your sorry ass from dying,” the vampire rolls his eyes. Yeah, he’s holding that one over Phil’s head for the rest of their lives. “You owe me an unlimited supply of baked goods.”

“Ugh, fine,” the werewolf groans. “But you’re helping me,” Phil threatens him. He goes on in the search of mugs and steps around Dan, his fingers lightly trace the vampire’s lower back as he passes the other. For a moment warmth seeps into Dan’s cold skin, burning hot and making his inhale stutter. “We can whip something up tomorrow. I’m thinking cupcakes,” the wolf muses unaware of the effect he had, retracting his hand. “Do you like chocolate or vanilla ones more? We could also do both, of course,” he opens up another cabinet and finally finds what he’s been looking for.

Phil continues talking during the time he fills the mug with blood but Dan’s not focusing on the words. The vampire only now realises that Phil’s turning into his friend. And it’s been years since Dan had one of those. It’s been even longer since he felt a connection with someone. And he clearly has been starved of it all as he’s happy to simply plan what they’re going to bake. Not weird or pathetic in the least. Nope.

Maybe the universe doesn’t want to fuck it all up for him after all.

“So,” Phil says conversationally as he hands the mug to Dan. “Did you just sleep all day? Do vampires only wake up when the sun sets? Can you sleep during the night?” He furrows his eyebrows, staring at Dan questioningly.

However, the vampire hardly gives a crap about any of the questions as his senses are overwhelmed by the enticing smell of the werewolf’s blood. Dan licks his lips in anticipation, bringing the mug closer to his mouth. For once he’s not too starved or too delirious to appreciate the finer notes in the blood. There’s that ever-present earthy smell but also aromas of chocolate and cherries and something simply _Phil_. It’s heady. The monster inside of him rejoices at the prospect of getting more blood and Dan finally succumbs to his primal instincts and downs it all in one go.

There’s a stutter of a heart in front of him and the vampire’s eyes snap up. He licks his lips clean of off the red liquid and catches a drop of it running down his chin. Then he darts his tongue out and slides the tip over his pointer, catching the droplet that managed to escape. The heartbeat quickens. All of the vampire’s focus now zeros in on the body not two feet away, on the way it emanates heat, on the pulse beating a too fast rhythm on his neck, on the bobbing Adam’s apple.

The vampire wants more. He wants it straight from the source, he wants to feel the pulse slowing down under his lips. His fangs drop without his consent and his vision clouds, there’s only one goal in his mind right now.

“Dan!” The shout shocks the vampire and he blinks several times. Phil is staring at him with a concerned expression. “Are you okay? Your eyes got all black,” he gnaws on his lip and Dan’s eyes instinctively follow the movement.

“Yeah, sorry,” the brunet clears his throat. He turns around and busies himself with thoroughly washing the mug. “I should have warned you beforehand but I thought I was in control,” he frowns at the cup. When the hell was he in control of _anything_? Not before he was turned and certainly not after. His whole life has always been governed by others. If only he had a choice in this.

“In control of what?” Phil asks. Dan still doesn’t dare to look at him.

“Of my hunger, my vampire side, the monster within,” Dan rolls his eyes, his voice blank. “I got too carried away. Sorry, won’t happen again,” he flashes a fake reassuring smile Phil’s way.

“Okay?” The werewolf frowns at him, worried. Dan ignores that; he’s a master at that.

“So, food?” He asks, putting too much pep in his tone apparently, as the wolf only raises an eyebrow at him. Disregarding that too, the brunet grabs some products from the fridge and starts making sandwiches.

“Is this like the only thing you can make?” Phil joins him in the food making after putting on a kettle and getting a couple more mugs out.

Dan purses his lips, not really wanting to admit to his lack of cooking knowledge. Unfortunately for him, the werewolf catches that quite quickly.

“Oh my god, it is, isn’t it?” The wolf laughs out loud.

Dan narrows his eyes and elbows the other in the ribs. Phil jumps at the sudden attack, buttered bread slips from his fingers and flops onto the floor. Groaning, the werewolf picks it up and waves it in Dan’s face.

“Happy?” He pouts.

“Extremely,” Dan smirks.

The wolf only huffs and gets back to the task at hand.

“So why’d you never learn?” Phil questions casually. He suddenly stops in his tracks, turning wide eyes to Dan. “Wait,” he says. “Were you some sort of royalty centuries ago and it was beneath you and then you just fed on humans and only now went legit with the donor blood and had to learn how to make a sandwich from scratch off of Youtube?” He rattles off his theory with such enthusiasm and glee that Dan’s almost sad to burst his bubble. _Almost_.

“First of all,” the vampire waves his knife and goes around Phil to turn off the kettle, “I can’t believe you actually used the word ‘legit’,” he shakes his head, a small amused smile on his face. “Second of all, how old do you think I am?” Dan cocks an eyebrow at the werewolf.

Phil snickers to himself.

“Is this the part where I ask you how long have you been seventeen?” He grins. Dan is no longer amused.

“Really?” He sighs. “Please, don’t tell me you like ‘Twilight’.” Dan resists the urge to drag a hand down his face while shaking his head derisively.

“I don’t,” Phil huffs indignantly, crossing his arms. “We watched it on pack night. Luke has the worst taste in movies,” the wolf rolls his eyes. “And hey,” he jabs a finger in Dan’s direction, “you’re the one who got the reference, you don’t get to judge.”

“Alright, alright,” Dan puts up his hands in a placating manner, a corner of his lips tugging upwards at the lighter tone their conversation has taken. It’s nice to simply banter with someone. “I didn’t need to learn before I was turned and I only recently started living separately from the coven,” he finally explains.

“So how old _are_ you?” Phil narrows his eyes at the vampire.

“I’m twenty four, technically,” Dan admits. “I was turned three years ago when I was twenty one,” he shrugs a shoulder finishing with his sandwiches and going to pour hot water over their teas.

“You’re younger than me?!” Phil’s surprised whine nearly makes Dan spill the water all over the counter. Luckily, his instincts kick in and he manages to hold the kettle stable.

“I guess,” the brunet answers, eyeing the wolf with concern. “I don’t exactly know how old you are. Besides why is that so surprising to you?” He manages to finish his task without any accidents and pushes one mug towards Phil.

“It’s just… I don’t know,” the werewolf shrugs a shoulder. “When I think ‘vampire’, I think about someone at least a hundred years old who’s seen half the world and knows everything.”

“Is that what you expected of me?” Dan gives him a blank look. “Because I have to tell you that I’m neither of those things. So don’t count on me spouting wise shit at any point in our relationship.” He nearly smacks himself for not catching himself in time and changing the word ‘relationship’ into something more appropriate but Phil doesn’t seem to care.

“Well, that’s just disappointing. And here I was thinking I started something with an older man,” Phil shakes his head and sighs. Dan pushes at the wolf’s shoulder none too gently in retaliation for the comment and receives a growl for his effort when Phil nearly sloshes tea all over himself. The vampire sends him a grin.

***

They forgot to exchange numbers, is the first thing that pops in Dan’s head when he wakes up on Tuesday evening (or rather night) at Natalie’s place. It’s after eleven and Dan’s the one who’s late. He briefly wonders if Phil’s panicking right now as Dan did last night. Ugh, if only he could call him.

Dan rubs a hand down his face and not so gracefully untangles himself from the sheets of Natalie’s bed. Managing not to wake his creator while putting on his clothes, the brunet sneaks out of the bedroom.

The living room is in an awful state and Dan’s glad Natalie allowed him to catch a few hours of sleep in her bed. There’s blood everywhere, their human and vampire guests are sprawled all over, a table and a couple of chairs are smashed, and there are feathers from torn up cushions floating around. It’s a mess and the metallic tang in the air makes Dan want to gag; it’s still weird to him to be only craving one person’s blood all the time.

“Leaving already?” Jasmine appears in the doorway of the kitchen. She’s got a mug of tea in her hand and there’s a streak of red on her cheek.

“I do have other matters to attend to,” Dan murmurs, straightening his shirt, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. He doubts that the formal tone will dissuade her from prying but it’s worth a shot.

“Mmm,” she sips at her tea. The silver eyes pierce Dan in search of truth. “And what these ‘other matters’ could be? Could it be your secret lover because of whom you haven’t drunk even a dollop of blood last night?” Her smirk turns predatory.

Dan actually bites on his tongue so he wouldn’t drop a few curses at her right here and now. Fuck her for meddling in his business. If Dan doesn’t want to drink strangers’ blood, then he won’t. And if he does or doesn’t have a supernatural bond with a werewolf, he sure as hell is not telling her.

“Tell Natalie I’ll call her later,” he says instead and heads out, ignoring the sickeningly ominous ‘when will we get to meet her?’ that Jasmine throws after him.

The familiar heartbeat Dan picks out as soon as he approaches his building is too fast and stutters slightly before slowing down. It makes the brunet smile that he, apparently, has a similar calming effect on Phil too. The vampire skips every second step and is on his floor in no time. The werewolf stands a few feet away, leaning on the wall with a couple of shopping bags by his feet.

“You’re late,” Phil echoes Dan’s words from last night but he’s more relaxed about it than the vampire was.

“Yeah, we had a party, sorry,” Dan bites his lip and goes to unlock his door, approaching Phil as well. He hears a muffled growl from beside him and turns slightly, pushing the door open. Phil’s got his jaw locked, his eyes are burning yellow, and his nostrils are flared. He says nothing as he bends down to take the bags and stalks inside the loft. Dan only blinks after him. “Tough day at the bakery?” The brunet jokes, closing the door behind himself and watching as Phil unpacks the groceries. How domestic of them.

“No,” the wolf barks out and Dan winces at the harsh tone so unlike the werewolf he got to know. Phil exhales slowly, back to Dan, hands gripping the counter. “Your scent,” he grits out. “It’s overwhelmingly your coven and blood and it’s difficult for me not to attack you right now,” the explanation is followed by a growl and the lengthening of Phil’s claws.

“Oh shit,” Dan’s eyes widen. He totally forgot about how sensitive to scents werewolves can be and how instinctual it is for them to want to hunt down vampires. A brief thought of why _Dan’s_ _only_ scent doesn’t affect Phil in such a way crosses the brunet’s mind but it’s not the time for that so he discards it. “I’ll take a shower then,” he mumbles quickly and darts into his bathroom.

When Dan returns a half hour later smelling, hopefully, of nothing, there’s a mug of blood already waiting for him on the counter and Phil looks like himself again if a bit tense.

“Thanks,” the vampire tries for a small grateful smile as he takes the cup. This time he’s much more aware of himself and his surroundings. Focusing on Phil’s breathing also helps Dan not to lose himself in the monster inside.

“Sorry about previously,” the brunet licks his lips as the last of the blood is gone. “The only scent vampires are that sensitive to is blood so it didn’t really cross my mind,” he shrugs a shoulder and turns his back to Phil to wash the mug. “But for werewolves it’s super important, right? Like for tracking and scenting and territory marking,” he muses. He still doesn’t get the need wolves have for everything to smell like them. Possessive much. “It probably didn’t help that I slept with my creator, did it?” Dan bites his lip. Their scents mingled for a few hours and that was most likely what set Phil off since Dan didn’t spend much time in proximity with the rest of his coven.

There’s a barely audible whine from behind Dan and the vampire turns his head to look but Phil’s busy opening a packet of sugar so it was probably nothing.

“So,” Dan turns around fully and leans on the counter. “What are we making today?”

“Cupcakes,” Phil announces with forced cheer, still not looking at Dan.

The vampire wants to ask what’s wrong but he supposes Phil’s still afraid of near Dan and harming him so he lets it slide. They focus on the baking and talking and the night turns out to be not that bad, considering how they started. Phil tells Dan about the people he works with, about his favourite baked goods to make and to eat, about how he got into baking in the first place. On his part, Dan listens intently, makes a few jokes, and tries not to get too close to Phil so the temptation of touching wouldn’t overwhelm him. All in all, they manage to keep a conversation and get cupcakes out of it, which turn out splendid even with Dan’s meddling.

However, there’s something bothering Phil and Dan doesn’t know what it is and he’s too scared to ask. So they skim across the surface, both of them pretending and knowing that the other pretends. But maybe it’s just how it has to be for now.

***

On Wednesday they make lasagne as Phil’s fed up with eating sandwiches all the time. Dan’s not complaining. Much. It’s all for show really, he doesn’t actually mind chopping the mushrooms. And he truly is not against Phil moving Dan out of his way by briefly placing a hand on Dan’s hip, or skimming fingertips along Dan’s lower back, or leaning his shoulder against Dan’s to check on his progress. Overall, Dan thinks he might start to like cooking with Phil more than he anticipated.

Dan eats his meal with a glass of Phil’s blood on the side. It helps him not to pounce on Phil and exsanguinate him on the spot.

“Who’s on hunter watching duty in your coven?” Phil asks around a bite of food.

“No one, really,” Dan answers honestly. “We have guests around so entertainment is the top priority right now. Especially, since the hunters are more focused on your pack than finding us.”

“You have guests?” Phil’s fork clatters on the plate. “Like, vampire guests?”

Dan nods slowly, not really grasping what’s so awful about that when Phil groans out loud.

“They’re not harming anyone,” the vampire assures him. “They have people travelling with them and my coven has plenty of donor blood.”

“They’re compelling people to be traveling blood bags?” Phil asks repulsed and outraged. His moral compass needs a bit of fixing, Dan thinks. He’s easily accepting his role as Dan’s lunch but not other people’s choice to be one?

“Vampires can’t compel,” Dan rolls his eyes. “It’s a common myth. We’re good at persuasion but we don’t have actual powers to make people do something just because we told them to. Those humans chose to travel with the coven. They like it.”

Phil scrunches up his nose but doesn’t say anything else on the feeding matter.

“When will they be gone?” The question comes out as a near whine.

“They should be out by Friday, I think. Why? I’m telling you, they won’t cause trouble,” the vampire reassures him again.

“It’s not that,” Phil sighs. “I hate keeping secrets from my pack, especially from my Alpha. The guilt will eat me alive,” he declares dramatically and smacks his forehead on the kitchen island.

“Wow, you’re a drama queen. Who would’ve thought?” Dan smirks, not feeling that empathetic at this moment.

Phil turns his head to the side and pouts up at him. Dan nearly gives in and pats him on the head for the glorious puppy eyes but refrains at the last moment.

“Finish your food,” he says and steals a bite from Phil’s plate. “Or I’ll finish it for you.”

The werewolf growls playfully and the next thing Dan knows, they’re having a food fight and his cabinets are suffering severely. There are mushrooms and minced meat and vegetables and red sauce dripping down Dan’s person and onto the floor. Phil’s in a similar state, though there’s pasta stuck to his shirt.

“You’re so cleaning this up,” the brunet states, licking off sauce from his fingers.

“You started it!” Phil motions towards the other, all mock offended.

“I did not,” Dan argues. “You threw your plate in my face,” he points to the shattered dish on the floor behind him. “Now fetch me that towel and start scrubbing,” the vampire opens up his palm, eyeing the tea towel near Phil.

The wolf doesn’t move. His face is blank and he crosses his arms.

“Fetch?” He asks, not amused.

Dan blinks at him a couple times before catching on and then smirks.

“Alright, if you don’t want to give it to me, I’ll take it myself,” he shrugs. “Stay,” he tells in a commanding tone to Phil, putting a hand up. Grin still in place, the brunet approaches the werewolf, grabs the towel, and this time pets him on the head before managing to say ‘good boy’ without choking on laughter.

The werewolf’s eyes shine yellow for a second and he growls, going to chomp on Dan’s fingers as the vampire pulls away. Dan yelps, stumbles back, slips on a pasta and lands on his ass in a sauce puddle on the floor. Now Phil’s the one trying to keep in his laughter. He doesn’t succeed.

“Oh shut up,” Dan grumbles, getting up. “Or I’m not lending you any of my clothes and you’re going home cosplaying as lasagne.” He smirks to himself as the werewolf huffs in annoyance.

***

Thursday has Dan chewing on his pencil while staring at a book he’s reading without actually seeing it. It’s quite common for him these days to wonder about the nature of Phil and his relationship when the werewolf is not around because when he _is_ Dan’s not really capable of focusing on anything else. It’s like he’s in some sort of happy daze. He probably should be worried about that too.

But it’s the same thoughts circling in his head for which he doesn’t have answers. He needs someone with the knowledge of supernatural bonds to tell him whether it’s really him feeling all those things or if it’s just imposed on him. He’d very much hate it if it were the latter.

And it’s not like Phil’s not attractive or someone Dan wouldn’t want to jump on. Actually, Dan’s got nothing against the physical aspect of the attraction. It’s the emotional bond that worries him the most. He’s not used to being emotionally attached to other beings and especially not this deeply and this fast. It’s more worrisome than reassuring at this point.

Yes, Dan likes having a friend and someone to talk to and joke with but he’d rather their relationship developed at a normal pace and this whole romantic aspect weren’t forced on him. Especially, since he doesn’t know how Phil feels. They could, of course, talk. Though Dan’s too much of a coward to breach such a subject so he doesn’t see it happening in the near future.

Ugh, why does the universe hate him? Dan groans out loud and slinks down the sofa until he’s lying down and staring at the ceiling, hoping to find answers there. He has no such luck.

Thursday also brings Phil in a bad mood. Dan didn’t think it possible, what with Phil being a ray of sunshine, total optimist and a generally nice person, but the living proof is in front of him.

“Is it that time of the month?” Dan asks as he lets in a scowly Phil into his loft. The vampire receives a death glare for that. “Hey,” he puts up his hands, “I’m just saying that the full moon is approaching.”

“No, it’s not because of that,” Phil rolls his eyes. He stalks to Dan’s living room and flops onto the still damaged sofa. Using his feet, he pushes Dan’s studying material further down the low table and rests his feet on the edge, ankles crossed. “Hunters are figuring out our real identities,” he grits out. And yeah, that’s pretty awful.

“How?” Dan furrows his brows and seats himself in the chair.

“I don’t know,” the wolf runs a hand through his hair. “But the pack’s all in a mood and it’s affecting me too and it’s all just so annoying, ugh,” he groans and throws his head back, closing his eyes.

Dan totally doesn’t focus on how that action bares the column of Phil’s neck to him. Or how Phil’s shirt opens up since it’s not buttoned up all the way and reveals his collarbones. Fuck. Dan has a thing for collarbones. His control is really being tested out these past days. The vampire clears his throat and tries to divert his thought from the need to attach himself to Phil’s neck and lick up a stripe.

“So what did they do exactly?” Dan questions, succeeding in sounding fairly normal. Another thought pops into his head: should he be worried about his coven too? Most likely not as the hunters only saw Dan and it’s not like he can warn his coven about this without revealing his friendship with a werewolf. So he’s risking putting them all in danger even though he can prevent it. Brilliant. Not that he cares much about them but still…

Ugh, fuck his _life._

“Ethan works at a tattoo parlour,” Phil starts explaining. “His boss there got falsified information that he’s got anger management problems and abuses substances or something so they fired him effective immediately. He tore up a tree earlier,” he runs a hand down his face.

Shit. Angry werewolves are bad. But hunters would be anticipating a violent reaction to what they did. There’s no way an attack would end in the favour of the wolves.

“You know they’re just trying to rile you up, right?” Dan wonders cautiously.

“Yeah, that’s what Eric told Ethan because the idiot wanted to hunt down a hunter. But Ethan said he didn’t care and a fight broke out, Sarah got hurt,” Phil bites his lip, staring at the ceiling. Only now Dan notices how extremely tired he looks, dealing with pack business doesn’t seem to be like a stroll in the park.

“She’s a human not a beta,” he explains. “So Eric got really pissed and Kevin and Kate nearly tore Ethan to shreds and Anne got in the way and that meeting turned into a wreck. Now everyone’s off sulking and licking their wounds. It’s shit when the pack fights, for all of us,” he sighs and Dan even has the grace to not point out the obvious pun and make fun of Phil, that’s how much of a good person he is.

“Alright,” Dan mumbles. “How about I order us a pizza and we play video games all night?” He suggests. Not really knowing how to comfort people is biting him in the ass.

But Phil only offers him a small grateful smile.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

***

The full moon falls on a Sunday. Dan can see the subtle shifts happening in Phil on Friday already. And he probably shouldn’t, after all they’ve been seeing each other consistently only for a week, but Dan’s connected to Phil in some magical way and happens to notice these things. No big deal; just the universe marrying him off to a werewolf.

His _life_.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Dan suggests, watching Phil intently; he hopes it’ll help to distract the other.

It’s Saturday now and if he thought yesterday was out of the norm and tonight was kind of shitty then he dreads to think how Phil gets on an actual full moon.

The werewolf has been twitchy all night, pacing up and down Dan’s living room, scowling at the window, huffing at a book he tried to read at one point, flat out refusing to go home and sleep. Now he’s sitting at the kitchen island, bouncing his knee and tapping his fingers on the surface, his jaw clenches and unclenches.

Phil’s eyes snap to Dan as soon as the vampire opens his mouth. They burn yellow and it worries Dan that Phil might lose control.

“No,” Phil growls and then stills completely. “Sorry,” he hangs his head. “I don’t mean to snap, it’s just…” He trails off and scowls at the covered up window some more.

It’s nearing dawn already. That fact is nothing much to Dan but the oncoming full moon and the lack of sleep seem to be irritating Phil quite a lot.

“It’s fine,” Dan shrugs a shoulder. “I just wish I could somehow help.”

A thoughtful expression appears on Phil’s face. He worries at his bottom lip and Dan’s fascinated by the movement, thinking how it would feel to do so to Phil himself. But it’s not the time for sexual thoughts, it rarely ever is when Phil’s in the room and Dan doesn’t want to embarrass himself, so the vampire trails his eyes higher. The wolf’s eyes are now flickering from blue to yellow; he really needs a distraction.

“Tell me how you were turned,” is what finally falls out of Phil’s mouth and Dan tenses up.

The brunet casts his gaze away and breathes in slowly. He’s not particularly fond of those memories.

“Sorry,” Phil apologises for the hundredth time that night and Dan would roll his eyes if he weren’t in a stupor at this moment. “You don’t have to. I’ve just been wondering and now’s as good a time as any. It would help me cope with this. Eric used to tell me stories during my first full moons. He’s not very good at that, by the way. But just the Alpha’s presence helps a lot. Later Nathan took over, he’s brilliant at making stuff up, and he’s the Alpha’s mate so that helps my wolf calm down too –”

“Alright, alright,” this time Dan actually rolls his eyes, stopping Phil’s babbling. He supposes it might be a coping technique but he really doesn’t want to listen to stories about Phil’s Alpha.

The brunet leans his forearms on the island, opposite Phil, and grasps his hands together. He mulls over the events for a bit, trying to make them cohesive and choosing where to start.

“I was diagnosed with leukaemia when I was sixteen,” Dan begins and hears Phil’s sharp intake of breath as he’s looking at the marble surface of the island rather than the wolf’s face. “Yeah, ironic, isn’t it? Considering what I became,” he snorts without amusement. “Anyway, the first year wasn’t that bad,” he shrugs a shoulder. “The treatment was working and I still went to school. Later it got worse, like, out of nowhere and I started spending more and more time in hospitals. By the time I was twenty, I became a permanent resident there,” he stops for a second and runs a hand through his hair.

“My family was always with me, they were extremely supportive,” he smiles slightly and then gnaws on his lip. “But I didn’t get better,” Dan sighs. “And then one day my doctor introduced me to his friend, Natalie Holmes. She said she was developing a treatment that could help people like me but first she needed to get to know me. So she started coming around every few evenings for a month or so and we talked about various things,” the brunet stops again.

He starts tracing patterns on the marble while frowning at it.

“After a while Natalie decided that she liked me the best out of I have no idea how many candidates. She made me the offer, explained it all: the hunger, the immortality, how we’d have to fake my death so my family wouldn’t come looking for me, how I’d have to join her coven. Of course, I didn’t believe her at first. But then she showed me her fangs and the eyes and how quickly she heals. I asked for a couple days to think it over,” he gulps audibly, tears pricking at his eyes.

“And you said yes?” Phil wonders softly, his hand reaching across the island only to stop abruptly and retreat.

“No,” Dan shakes his head, voice rough. “I said no. I couldn’t do it to my family. I didn’t want them to mourn me while I was actually alive and well. And I most certainly didn’t want to start killing people just to survive. The whole idea was repulsive to me so I refused her offer and told her not to visit me again,” he exhales loudly and drums his fingers on the marble a few times.

“She didn’t listen, of course,” he continues, snorting derisively. “She liked me too much and a week later I was dead,” Dan spits the last sentence out, hating her for thinking she’s superior than him, that she has some sort of authority, that he can’t make his own choices, for thinking she can just own him and force her will on him. Hating the hand he got dealt in the first place, for having no control over _anything_.

“I had to watch my mum crumble into tears during my funeral, my dad turn to alcohol after, and my brother not know how to handle anything. Natalie told me I had to stop going round my home and stalking them from a distance but I couldn’t. All I did that first year was loathe my coven, kill people so I could exist and watch my family fall apart,” the vampire closes his eyes. He listens to the steady beat of Phil’s heart, he can smell the faint notes of earth and pines in the air. The tension slowly leaves his body; just Phil’s presence is enough to calm him down.

“Natalie made us move when my family started getting better,” he opens his eyes and meets Phil’s concerned gaze. His eyes are blue, no longer flickering, and Dan congratulates himself on small victories. “We’ve been traveling without stopping since then until we came here.”

There’s silence after that. Dan wonders what Phil’s making of this whole story. Is he wondering how many people Dan’s killed? Oh god, hopefully, not. Dan’s not proud of those days and he’d rather forget his first year ever happened.

“You still hate her,” Phil observes carefully after some time. “Your maker, I mean,” he looks slightly puzzled.

“Yeah, I do,” Dan laughs humourlessly and nods a few times. “But I can’t escape her or them so I’m stuck. At least Natalie let me have my own place,” he shrugs a shoulder.

“Why can’t you?” The wolf questions, brows furrowed.

“First of all, Natalie wouldn’t let me leave her,” Dan admits. “It’s probably like your Alpha giving you an order, even if you don’t want to do it, you have to,” he tries to explain and as Phil’s jaw clenches, he sees that the werewolf understood. “And secondly, they keep their connections to themselves so it would be difficult for me to survive without their help of getting forged documents, places to live, or donor blood.”

“But you need only my blood now,” Phil argues. “And my pack has plenty connections, I’m sure we could help you out if you wanted.”

Dan shakes his head immediately. He’s thought about it.

“Natalie has this weird possessive thing about me. She won’t let me go and she would kill your pack for even trying to help me,” he says, recalling the end of the last vampire who tried to recruit Dan to his coven. It was anything but nice and peaceful. “Thanks for the offer though,” he smiles sadly.

“There must be something we could do,” the wolf doesn’t back down. Dan admires his persistence but it’s rather futile. He doesn’t voice that idea, however, not wanting to start a row or something.

“Yeah, well, I’ll think about it,” the vampire mumbles instead.

Dawn breaks soon after but doesn’t manage to pierce the ever closed blinds of Dan’s living room windows. Phil relaxes slowly as the sun creeps up the horizon, the moon losing its effect on the werewolf.

“I should go,” the wolf says reluctantly as the clock on the microwave blinks nine a.m. “I have to be at Eric’s at noon.”

“Alright,” Dan smiles reassuringly, though he doesn’t know why reassurances might be needed.

Phil nods and gets up. Dan watches him reach the door where the werewolf stops abruptly. Turning around, he focuses his gaze on Dan. The vampire lifts an eyebrow.

“I need –” Phil cuts himself off and clenches his jaw. Clearly, there are battling emotions inside of him and Dan has no idea what to do to help him. So the vampire just watches as the wolf drums his fingers on his thigh, huffs, and then meets Dan’s eyes again. “Can I hug you?” He asks tentatively, afraid of rejection, and Dan nearly shouts that he has Dan’s consent to do whatever the hell he wants. The brunet controls himself, however.

“Yeah, sure,” he answers, pulling away from the island, proud of his calm demeanour when he’s actually freaking out inside. Natalie’s lessons prove to be useful sometimes.

Suddenly, he’s got his arms full of werewolf and his heat nearly burns Dan’s skin. Phil’s completely relaxed in his arms and nuzzles at Dan’s neck, scenting him. Which, yeah, they’ll have to talk about that at some point if this becomes a daily occurrence. And Dan would very much like that; he’s already getting addicted to feeling the heat of Phil’s body against his.

Their hearts beat in unison for a few seconds. Dan allows himself to pull Phil a tiny bit closer, the werewolf purrs in answer. There’s a barely there press of lips against Dan’s neck. It might have been imaginary but it’s enough to send Dan’s mind into the gutter. Thankfully, Phil pulls back before Dan has the opportunity to further develop the idea of where he’d like to have Phil’s lips next.

“Thanks,” Phil says, stepping back. “The touching,” he rubs at his nape all embarrassed and adorable and Dan has a hard time refraining from cooing at him, “it helps werewolves calm down. And the familiar scents,” he’s blushing now and Dan smirks.

“Could’ve told earlier,” he teases. “We could’ve had a full on cuddle session on the sofa,” _or in my bed_ , Dan adds only to himself.

“Right,” the werewolf grins too. “Maybe the next full moon,” he actually winks at Dan as he’s retreating backwards to the door. The bastard. “See you on Monday.”

Dan can only nod, playing around with the idea of cuddling up with Phil. Hmm, so many possibilities. That distracts him enough that he doesn’t immediately feel distraught and lonely when Phil leaves without the promise of returning tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm writing them OOC... Am I? Idk anymore...  
> Anyway, yay for the interactions and domesticity!


	7. Chapter 7

Tumbling down onto the forest floor, the moonlight spills and splashes in splotches across the soft moss, the lanky roots, the sharp blades of grass. Without a sound wolves move through the muted light of the full moon, at times illuminated in stark white when the thick canopy of trees allows for that. Gentle summer breeze ruffles their fur, cools them down, even though only slightly. The air is filled with happy howls and playful growls. Otherwise, it’s all a blur.

Phil wakes up surrounded by pack. It’s one of the best feelings he’s ever experienced. His wolf purrs in contentment at the safety and the feeling of  _home_  being this near the pack provides. He sometimes wonders how he survived before when it was only him and his Alpha, and later when he was all alone. Thankfully, he wasn’t by himself for long and now he’s got a proper pack, a family.

But something’s missing. And as Phil blinks up at the ceiling of his Alpha’s living room, he knows he’ll never have it. Dan. If only the brunet could be here, among his pack, it would be absolutely perfect. Then Phil would have his mate and his family all in one place and he wouldn’t need anything else. Alas, that dream is not meant to come true.

Also, there’s the issue of Dan’s coven or, more specifically, his creator. Phil doesn’t even know the woman, and he usually reserves judgment for when he actually gets to know a person, but she doesn’t sound like a pleasant vampire to be around. How could Dan sleep with her? He said he hates her but he slept with her anyway. Is it some sort of love-hate relationship? Or is she  _that_ good at convincing people to do what she wants? Phil dreads to think that Dan wanted it himself; his wolf gets restless at the idea that their mate would want to be with another person.

The werewolf sighs heavily. What are the odds of a werewolf finding a mate who is already with someone else? Is it just his bad luck?

“Don’t ruin a perfectly good morning after a full moon with your melancholy,” Seth murmurs, obviously to Phil. The teen werewolf has his head on Phil’s stomach and his legs draped over Marie’s middle.

Phil rolls his eyes, even though Seth can’t see that as he has his eyes closed, and ruffles the other’s hair. Affection and touches are easily shared among a pack of wolves so it feels quite natural.

“Are you moping again?” Olivia asks, lifting her head from Kevin’s shoulder and blinking at him sleepily.

“Yeah, what’s up with that? You’ve been acting strange all week,” Marie adds, stretching out, a huge yawn splitting her face.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Anne murmurs into Ethan’s bicep. She’s not even looking at them, still nuzzling her on-and-off boyfriend. “Our Philly has a secret lover,” she says without really caring.

“Can we stop analysing my  _personal_  life?” Phil groans. He hides his face in his hands and can’t believe that anyone actually noticed his mopiness brought on by not being able to spend every possible minute with Dan when he came to pack meetings last week. Damn it, he needs to try harder.

“There’s no such thing as  _personal_  when you’re part of a pack,” Eric says and Phil can swear he’s smirking. He checks that by removing his hands from his face and glaring at his Alpha. Yep, totally a smirk. The bastard.

“Oooh, who is she? Or he? Do we know them? Have you told them you’re a werewolf yet? Did they handle it well?” Seth perks up, resting his chin on Phil’s stomach and near kicking Marie in the face when he turns around, his eyes alight with glee.

“I’m not telling any of you anything at all,” Phil pushes the teen of off himself and crosses his arms, pouting. Is it childish? Probably. Does he care? Absolutely not. He’s not spilling a word about Dan; he prefers his mate alive.

“So there  _is_  something to tell?” Olivia grins and Phil hates his best friend right now. Gosh, he needs a new one. Or a whole new pack, one that doesn’t get involved in his  _personal_  business.

“Was our guess last week right?” Anne lifts her head, more interested now. “Did you really get involved with a hunter? That’s below even you, Phil,” she tsks and Phil growls at her.

“Tell your pups to behave,” Nathan murmurs sleepily, still burrowed into his mate’s chest.

“They’re your pups too,” Eric smiles and kisses the top of his head when Nate protests against the statement with a groan.

Phil hopes he’ll get to be this disgustingly cute with Dan too (when Phil helps the vampire to free himself from that Natalie person). Not around the pack though, PDA is not really his thing.

“And the pups need food,” Seth near wails, sitting up as the whole pack is already awake and ready to start breakfast. Phil’s just glad that the food mention distracts everyone enough to not question him further.

After a full moon breakfast is always a rather loud and disorganised affair. Wolves and humans sit or stand all around in their pyjamas, laughing and talking and just having a nice pack bonding time. It’s one of Phil’s favourites.

Noah and Luke are keeping to themselves, though Nathan does try to involve them in a conversation he’s having with Marie. Eric and Olivia are laughing out loud at a joke Kevin said. Ethan and Anne are arguing over something with Seth, but good naturedly enough so that no one sees the need to get involved. Phil’s standing near a kitchen counter, Kate by his side and Sarah close by her.

“You need to work on your poker face,” Kate mumbles around a mouthful of eggs. No one’s really paying them any attention so they feel safe discussing the touchy subject, not like they’ll get into specifics any way. Besides, their tones are hushed enough so that only the one’s really trying would be able to listen in.

“I know,” Phil sighs. “But it’s not like I  _want_  to hide it from everyone,” he frowns at his plate.

“Yeah, it’s tough to do that to them,” she gnaws on her lip, looking around their pack, their  _family_. “You should decide how to tell them. Better before they find out on their own,” she suggests from her own experience.

Phil nods, picking at his food. He notices Sarah glancing at them from behind Kate’s shoulder but he’s quite positive the girl won’t say anything to anyone so he continues the conversation.

“It’s just that we have this whole hunters business going on, I don’t want to add stress to Eric’s already overflowing levels,” he glances at their Alpha who is now in a deep conversation with Liv.

“That sounds really ominous,” Kate remarks, watching him intently. “Are you sure you can’t tell me who this person is? It might be easier for me to help.”

Phil shakes his head. He doesn’t want anyone knowing even the slightest detail about Dan and risk his safety. It’s bad enough that Seth already knows the vampire’s scent from that meeting in the forest a week ago; he prays to all that is holy that the young beta doesn’t ever recognise it on Phil.

The first ones to leave are, unsurprisingly, Luke and Noah. Phil follows soon after them as he needs to get to work which he enjoys immensely but it pales in comparison to spending the night with Dan. The end of his shift can’t come soon enough and when Phil’s done, and the kitchen is clean and he’s said goodbye to his co-workers, he heads straight to Dan’s as they agreed on meeting earlier this time round.

The sun is still up when Phil reaches Dan’s block of flats but he now knows that vampires don’t automatically sleep throughout the whole day so there’s a possibility that Dan’s already awake and hiding in a dark corner. It’s a good thing that the brunet already trusted the wolf with a key to the loft, Phil would hate to wake him up if the vampire is, indeed, still asleep. So Phil lets himself in quietly and listens into goings on of the place.

There’s a too fast (for a vampire at least) beating heart on the second floor, some ruffling of the sheets and a few murmurs. However, it doesn’t sound like Dan’s got someone else over so Phil is pretty confident in going to investigate.

He scales the spiral staircase slowly. The werewolf knows he’s intruding but can’t help himself, he’s just really interested in how Dan’s bedroom looks like. The door to the room on the second floor is ajar and Phil peeks inside. It’s dark, naturally. The heavy curtains block out all possible sunlight. But otherwise it’s a normal bedroom, no coffins or skulls or bags of blood rolling around. Phil’s a bit disappointed.

Dan mumbles something in his sleep and Phil’s made aware of how creepy he’s being right now. So he turns around to leave but not before he hears Dan say his name.

Huh. Interesting.

Against his better judgment and ignoring the saying about the cat (he’s partly canine either way), he returns to his creeping spot. However, Dan’s not having a pleasant dream as Phil hoped. The vampire tosses a bit before he stills completely and his breathing stops for a second. Stepping inside the room, Phil knows something’s wrong. As he approaches the bed, he realises that Dan’s heart is no longer beating.

His wolf is stunned momentarily, as is Phil himself, before it starts howling inside his head in grief over their obviously dead mate. Phil doesn’t even have time to reason with it as Dan gasps awake and his heart lurches into overdrive. The vampire sits up, breathing heavily, and runs a hand over his face and through his hair, and only after a few seconds realises that there is another being in the room with him. Their eyes meet.

“Your heart stopped,” Phil says and hates how raw he sounds, how scared he was for those few moments.

“Yeah,” Dan rasps out and then coughs slightly, clearing his throat. “That happens before a vampire wakes up. Sleep is not really peaceful for my kind. We basically die every day. It’s shit, totally don’t recommend,” he tries to joke and cracks a fake smile.

Phil has no idea what to say to that. Seems like being a vampire is more complicated than he ever thought. Dan really got the worst deal in the supernatural lottery.

“Would you mind waiting downstairs while I dress up?” The brunet asks and Phil nods instantly, turning around and returning to the lounge.

He’s got nothing to distract himself with while he’s waiting. So after pacing around for a bit, Phil decides to put the kettle on and make some tea. That’s always a good solution to any problem.

Dan comes downstairs a few minutes later. His hair is still a bit tousled from sleep but he’s wearing those tight jeans that in Phil’s opinion should be illegal and a simple black t-shirt. How Dan makes the simplest of outfits look sexy Phil has no idea.

“How was the run?” The brunet asks seeming genuinely curious as he accepts a steaming cup from Phil.

“It was good,” the werewolf shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t really remember much, the full moon always is a blur to us. But this morning was fun, I love spending time with my pack,” he smiles slightly.

“Yeah,” Dan sips his tea. “That’s probably the main difference between vampires and werewolves; I hate being with my coven,” he makes a face but Phil guesses it’s not because of the tea.

Dan’s words stir up questions in Phil’s mind that he knows he shouldn’t ask but can’t help not asking. So he chews on his lip for a moment before spilling what’s on his mind.

“You’ve already said that,” he begins. “And that you hate your creator. But you still slept with her. Is she making you do that?” He looks up at Dan, worry probably evident on his face. Phil hates to even think that Dan’s creator is coercing him into sex and he has to make sure Dan’s not being taken advantage of.

The vampire surprises him by laughing out loud and shaking his head. He’s still smiling when he answers Phil’s question.

“Natalie and I are not having sex, Phil,” he rolls his eyes and then grimaces. “When I said that I slept with her, it wasn’t a euphemism. I actually did sleep in her bed cos we had guests over and all the other beds were occupied,” he explains and a heavy weight lifts off Phil’s chest. The werewolf sighs in relief.

“Did you think you’ll have to save me from sex slavery?” Dan smirks.

“I don’t know,” Phil throws his hands up, forgetting that he has a cup of tea in one of them and nearly sloshes it over himself. “It’s just that you said you hated her and then that you slept with her. What was I supposed to think?”

“You should’ve gotten your mind out of the gutter, Philly,” Dan waves a finger at him disapprovingly. Phil only rolls his eyes. “Alright,” Dan takes another sip. “What’s on the cooking agenda for tonight?”

Over the next couple of hours Phil tries to teach Dan how to bake a simple pie. And it might be just his imagination or Dan purposefully fails at every little task Phil gives him. Like opening a pack of flour. It shouldn’t be a difficult feat for a vampire with enhanced abilities to achieve but by some miracle Dan manages to spill half of the pack onto Phil. He, of course, apologises profusely (when he stops laughing, that is) and graciously agrees to lend Phil some clothes. And Phil could think of worse things than having Dan’s comforting scent just under his nose at all times so he doesn’t hold that against the vampire.

After that disaster, Phil orders Dan to simply wash the apples they’ll be using. And how could that go wrong? As it happens, Dan proves to be the clumsiest vampire of all time when the apples spill from his hands onto the ground. The werewolf bends down to help him collect them. Their fingers brush over each other’s hands constantly as if Dan knows which fruit Phil wants to take and opting to grab the same one. They bump foreheads when standing up and Dan’s hand is suddenly on Phil’s bicep as another apology falls from his lips with a not quite innocent smile.

Phil catches up pretty quickly afterwards. It’s not like he’s  _completely_  blind to what Dan apparently is trying to do but he never thought the vampire’s flirting was anything but simply playful. Now it seems purposeful. So Phil joins in on the game.

The wolf keeps lightly touching the vampire; just a brush of his fingers over Dan’s lower back to make him move or a hip bump to show him that Phil also needs room on the counter. Dan retaliates by stopping Phil at one point and faux casually brushing flour that’s left in his hair. Phil gets flustered only for a moment and pays back by standing behind Dan as the vampire is rolling the dough. He feigns checking on his progress and sprinkling more flour on the dough so it wouldn’t stick to the pin, but actually he just wants to see how long he can keep his front pressed against Dan’s back until the vampire squirms away from the touch. Dan doesn’t. Which is very interesting and Phil will totally overanalyse that at a later date.

Their unspoken game ends too quickly for Phil’s liking but he supposes they’ll be able to repeat it tomorrow night. Now Phil just has to think of something more difficult to make so that Dan would need more ‘assistance’.

By the end of the evening they end up in their usual positions. Dan’s sitting on the floor next to the low table, he’s chewing on a straw that was once in the now empty mug of blood, and reading through some article online (the new semester doesn’t start for another week but Dan’s bored out of his mind so he’s reading ahead of time). Phil’s lounging on the still ripped open sofa and playing ‘Crossy Road’ on his phone; he’s been addicted to it for the past couple of days. It’s quite amazing how domestic they got after only a week.

“This is bullshit,” the brunet announces sometime around eleven p.m. as he’s glaring at the screen.

“What is?” Phil mumbles, glancing briefly up at his adorably scrunched up face.

“I’m taking a supernatural course next semester and the whole reading material is bullshit,” Dan points at the laptop. “Like, it’s written right here that vampires have to be buried in order to complete the transition. That’s absolute nonsense,” he huffs.

“What did you expect?” Phil raises an eyebrow. “I doubt you’ll find anything true in there. Aren’t they basing it all of off the clichés?”

“I don’t know,” Dan throws his arms up. “I thought I’d learn something useful and this is just a ton of crap. Ugh, this is gonna be the worst class  _ever_ ,” he wails dramatically and flops onto the table.

Phil snickers and receives a death glare for his effort which makes him laugh even louder. Dan is not amused.

“Of course, laugh at my pain. Some friend you are,” the vampire grumbles, pouting petulantly.

“You look so cute when you do that,” Phil remarks out of the blue and nearly smacks himself.  _Why?_  Why would his brain decide that’s an appropriate thing to say? Ugh, he needs his brain to mouth filter checked out.

Dan blushes. And vampires don’t do that easily or without good reason so Phil’s a bit confused but supposes it’s more from awkwardness that Phil’s created than because he actually got affected by the compliment.

“I should get back to the –” The brunet waves at his laptop, not looking Phil in the eye, and doesn’t even finish his thought.

Phil briefly wonders if he should take the words back, apologise or something. But he doesn’t do any of these things and just returns to his game. Let Dan think what he wants. Maybe this will finally be the hint he needs to understand that Phil likes him. Like,  _really_  likes him. Likes him so much that his wolf already considers Dan their mate. Which, Phil’s more okay with that than he’d thought he’d be and has referred to Dan as his mate several times already so actually, he’s  _hoping_  that Dan will realise that Phil’s completely head over heels for him.

“Werewolves get turned too, right?” Dan wonders after a few minutes, he’s once again chewing on the straw.

“Yeah,” Phil nods. “But some are already born as werewolves. My Alpha is a born wolf.”

“And you?” The brunet’s suddenly more interested than before, all his attention is on Phil, making the werewolf squirm from the intensity.

“I was turned,” Phil admits slowly and chews on his lip. “I didn’t want this either, like you. But no one even asked me, I didn’t know anything about the supernatural being real,” he stares in front of himself, eyes glazed over as he remembers the events, fingers tapping against his thigh.

“How old were you?” Dan asks carefully, his voice sounds muffled to Phil.

“Fifteen,” Phil responds but doesn’t elaborate. He hasn’t thought about this in a while and it’s not something he likes to recall; that night was the worst of his life.

“What –” Dan begins voicing another question as a ringing phone cuts him off.

Phil stares at the device in his hands for a couple of seconds before clearing his throat and answering. It’s half past eleven and his Alpha doesn’t usually call this late so something bad has to be up.

“Phil,” Eric starts without even a greeting, sounding angry and agitated. “Pack meeting. Now,” he near growls and Phil can hear Nathan calming the Alpha down, it doesn’t seem to be working.

“What happened?” The beta stands up, a frown on his face. Dan glances up at him.

There’s shuffling on the other side of the line.

“Hunters,” Nathan answers him, there’s another growl. “They set up traps on the far side of the territory, Kate and Kevin got hurt, Sarah’s freaking out,” he sighs. “Just… We need everyone here and now.”

“Of course,” Phil nods even though Nate can’t actually see him. “Where exactly?”

The Alpha’s mate gives him directions and hangs up. Phil curses as he’s pocketing his phone. They should’ve known that the hunters were up to something; it’s been too quiet this past week.

“I need to go,” he tells Dan, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, of course,” the vampire bobs his head up and down. “Be careful, okay?” He adds after a couple of seconds of deliberation.

“Always am,” Phil tries for a smile but the worry for the safety of his pack hinders his ability to be happy right now. “I’ll text you later,” he tells Dan and bends down, planting a kiss on the top of Dan’s head before grabbing his jacket and heading out.

Phil’s watching the elevator door closing as something dawns on him. He fucking  _kissed_  Dan. Granted, it was a simple peck goodbye, nowhere near his mouth, but still. Fuck. The werewolf bangs the back of his head against the elevator wall and closes his eyes for a moment, breathing in deep and slow. He’s an idiot and should not be allowed to be around people when he’s stressed. A ding announces the end of his ride as Phil rubs a hand down his face. He opens his eyes and steps out. Well, what’s done is done, he’s got bigger problems right now.

The run to the outskirts of their territory is one of the most irritating Phil’s had. The hunters really went all out. Wolfsbane seems to be everywhere: petals of the flower are scattered all over the ground, bundles of it are tied to the branches of trees, the smell of it is strong in the air and makes Phil’s eyes water. It numbs his nose to scents and burns down his throat; a tactic used by hunters so that werewolves couldn’t tell if there’s danger nearby. But Phil’s actually grateful for it as in his rush to get here, he completely forgot that he’s still wearing Dan’s clothes and has his scent clinging to him (really, how much more absent minded could he get?). The wolfsbane solved that problem for him very nicely as he can’t even smell  _himself,_  let alone Dan, so his pack shouldn’t be able to either.

He reaches them quite quickly, even though he had only Nate’s instructions to rely on as his tracking abilities are temporarily non-existent. His pack is near a stream. Eric and Nathan are standing further away, arguing, which is always a bad sign. Marie is next to Kate and Kevin who lie side by side looking awfully pale and bloody, Phil can’t even discern where they’re hurt. Olivia has Sarah in her arms, the latter is crying. Seth’s pacing up and down the stream’s bank, gnawing on his lip. Four more of their pack members are not present yet.

“I’m not waiting any longer, Nathan,” the Alpha growls. “We’re doing it tonight and it’s the end of discussion,” he says with finality, staring his mate down with burning red eyes. The command reverberates through Phil’s whole being as Eric uses his status.

“Don’t you fucking dare use that tone with me,” Nathan hisses, his jaw tense. “I’m not one of your betas, Eric.”

“Mom and dad are fighting again,” Seth murmurs, appearing beside Phil.

Even though his tone is joking, Phil can see how stressful it is for him to watch the Alpha pair in disagreement. He also feels the tension through the pack bonds; it’s an extremely shitty feeling. Now he would get anything to return the teasing mood of just this morning. Damn, the hunters are ruining  _everything_.

Phil catches Olivia’s eyes, she’s worried too, they all are. But she manages a smile at seeing him and having another pack member near. The werewolf nods at her and then glances over at the injured betas. Marie’s trying to wash their wounds, Phil supposes they got infected with wolfsbane.

This is all so fucked up.

“What exactly happened?” Phil asks Seth, walking closer to the wounded.

“We were about to have a training session when we caught scent of hunters,” the young beta explains. “So, of course, we started tracking and then nearly choked to death when the smell of wolfsbane hit us,” he scrunches up his nose. The scent is still awful but it’s nothing compared to having wolfsbane inside your system; Phil prefers it this way.

“This idiot triggered a trap,” Marie adds to Seth’s story, indicating Kevin. Her eyes are watery, whether from the irritating scent or because she’s that worried about Kate and Kevin, Phil doesn’t know.

“Yeah,” Seth nods, kneeling down and putting a hand on Kevin’s shoulder. Black lines start travelling up his forearm as he leeches away the pain. The injured wolf sighs in relief. “Arrows went flying everywhere. The rest of us managed to avoid being hit. Kate jumped in front of Sarah, though, as she was next to Kev.”

Phil only shakes his head and puts his hand on Kate, helping Marie take her pain away. He feels guilt from Kevin through the pack bonds but it’s rather over clouded by their Alpha’s worry and rage. Yeah, that needs fixing too.

“Seth,” Phil says. “Help Marie take care of Kate and Kevin,” his order is softer than the Alpha’s but the young wolf nods in acquiescence nevertheless.

Finally, Phil approaches Eric and Nathan who are scowling at each other. The tree beside the Alpha has several claw marks from when he probably lashed out. His hands are shaking, barely containing the shift. Nathan doesn’t look scared of him though. Maybe because he trusts Eric not to hurt him. Maybe because he’s got a crossbow in one hand and a gun strapped to his thigh. Either is possible.

“Tell your idiot of an Alpha that his plan is fucking shit,” Nate greets Phil, his fingers tighten around the crossbow.

“Can’t really do that when I don’t know the plan,” Phil answers diplomatically, he’s always acted as a mediator between the two. Nathan scoffs.

“I will not stand for this,” Eric motions to Kate and Kevin. “We attack the hunters tonight and take out as many of them as we can.”

“And have even more of the betas injured or  _killed_?” Nathan grits out. For being a foot shorter than the Alpha he sure stares him down well.

“We can’t wait any longer,” Eric argues. “Who knows what else they have planned? They are already slowly ruining our social lives –”

“They got Ethan fired, big deal,” Nathan interrupts, rolling his eyes.

“They run around hunting us,” Eric continues over him, “and now they’ve set up traps. We are  _already_  being killed,” he snarls and steps closer to his mate; an effective scaring tactic if Nate weren’t familiar with it.

“Nobody’s died yet but they will if you continue with this suicide mission,” Nathan pushes at his chest, the werewolf, of course, doesn’t move an inch.

“Nobody’s going to die on my watch,” Eric snarls.

“Oh, the almighty Alpha will save us all,” the human mocks. “You can’t protect  _all_  of them, Eric. It’s not physically possible. We need to wait and plan –”

“Here’s a plan,” it’s the Alpha who’s interrupting this time. And really? Phil loves them both as brothers but they’re both just so fucking stubborn and want to have their own way without compromise. How they’ve been together for nearly five years is beyond Phil. “We kill the hunters and be rid of them by morning.”

“And be  _dead_  by morning, you mean,” Nathan lifts and eyebrow in challenge.

“I think Nate’s right,” Phil finally has a chance to butt into their quarrel and receives a growl from Eric and a smirk from Nate. “We don’t have a plan, Eric,” the beta tries to reason. “We’d be going in blind. We don’t even know  _how many_  there are of them. They’re just trying to make us angry and agitated and want us to do something stupid. Don’t let them manipulate you like that. Think rationally for a second,” he suggests as carefully as he can.

“They only knew how to get Ethan fired cos they saw his face during the whole kidnapping fiasco,” Phil starts explaining. “They clearly don’t know where we live, otherwise they would have wolfsbaned your house and not some obscure area of your territory. They have nothing, only guess work, don’t give them a chance to learn more about us.”

Eric huffs in annoyance but still considers Phil’s words. Phil’s just grateful that Nathan stays quiet this time as his input would not be welcomed by the Alpha right now.

“Alright,” Eric runs a hand through his hair. “We’ll wait for a head on attack from them. It’s not like I  _want_  to fight them but I can’t just sit and do nothing while my pack suffers.”

“I understand,” Phil nods. “But we can’t make rash decisions.”

“When did you get so smart?” Nate smirks at him, shoving at his shoulder playfully.

“I have my moments,” the beta rolls his eyes but his inner wolf purrs happily at the Alpha’s mate’s praise.

“We should get Kate and Kevin home,” Eric muses, looking at the betas with worry.

Phil turns around to glance at them too. They’re looking better, not as pale anymore and not as bloody; Marie and Seth did a good job washing out their wounds from wolfsbane and the healing process has kicked in, they should recover quickly now. Phil’s inside wolf sighs in relief at their pack mates being out of potential danger.

“Phil,” the Alpha calls for his attention again. “Organise a search party for the traps. Not tonight, though. Rest and look for them tomorrow with a few of the betas.”

“Yeah, sure,” Phil agrees even though it’s not like he will argue with his Alpha over this one. There goes his plan to spend the night with Dan. Shit.

***

It’s later in the night and Phil’s leaning on a wall in his Alpha’s lounge. The whole pack is finally together, huddled up for comfort and security’s sake. Noah doesn’t look too happy to be woken up in the middle of the night only to be dragged to a house out in the woods but he’ll survive. In Phil’s opinion, he should learn to be a part of the pack sooner rather than later as it would be easier on Luke to deal with this new life if he had the support of his boyfriend. However, it’s none of Phil’s business so he doesn’t say anything and instead texts Dan.

_Phil: Back at my Alpha’s. We’re all okay._

He deliberates for a second if he should write ‘I’ instead of ‘we’ but decides against it as to not assume Dan’s  _that_  worried about him.

_Dan:  thats great!! will i see you tomorrow??_

Phil smiles at his phone at Dan’s enthusiastic reply but then worries at his lip.

_Phil: Sorry, no. Have a search party planned._

Lifting his eyes as he waits for Dan’s reply, Phil notices Kate’s gaze on him. He’s not the only one missing from the puppy pile so he has no idea why she’s looking all worried. Besides, everyone already suspects he has someone and it’s not unusual for a werewolf to want at least a bit of privacy when texting or calling that someone. He raises an eyebrow in question but she just shakes her head with a sad half-smile. Weird.

_Dan: thats fine no worries ill survive the night_

The message comes a few minutes later and Phil can already imagine Dan drumming his fingers on a table and chewing on his lip as he composes what he wants to say. It’s cute and brings a smile to Phil’s face. But he doesn’t get a chance to answer as another text comes through.

_Dan: youre not avoiding me are you_

Phil frowns at the phone. Avoiding him? Why would he?

_Phil: No, of course I’m not. Believe me, I’d rather spend the night with you than scouring the woods for lethal traps._

After he hits ‘send’, Phil wonders if the whole ‘spend the night with you’ was a bit much. Add that to the kiss he planted on Dan’s head before leaving and you get the cheesiest way of flirting in the history of ever. Phil groans at himself internally.

_Dan: good to know your priorities_

_Dan: see you later then_

Phil sends a quick text goodbye and returns to his pack. He steps over some people to his usual spot and settles in. Eric and Nathan are not present yet as they’re still not over the fight so there’s some tension in the pack bonds but Phil’s not too concerned, those two solve their disputes quickly as (and Phil doesn’t want to talk about  _how_  he knows this) they can’t go a night without sleeping together.

“Was he worried about you?” Olivia whispers next to Phil. She squirms a bit until she’s got her head on his shoulder and he’s petting her lightly. And it’s no wonder she knows it’s a ‘he’, she’s Phil’s best friend for a reason.

“Yeah,” Phil breathes out carefully. No one around him reacts this time.

“Good,” Liv mumbles, clearly falling asleep already. “That means he cares.”

Phil smiles slightly up to ceiling, his wolf hums proudly in agreement with Olivia’s words.

“I guess it does,” the werewolf answers the other beta.

“Shut up,” Seth groans from the other side of Phil and shuffles quite vigorously. Finally, he flops on Phil’s stomach and purrs in contentment at having found the perfect spot.

“How is it always that I end up being everyone’s pillow?” Phil wonders out loud, genuinely curious.

“You’re comfy,” Seth murmurs into his stomach and squirms some more till Phil sighs and starts petting the other wolf too.

Then there’s a weight on his legs and Phil peers down to see Marie settling over him. And seriously? His  _pack._  But Phil wouldn’t have it any other way. Except maybe with Dan somewhere in the mix, though that’s a problem for a night when he’s not still feeling the effects of the full moon and has not spent a good half hour being slowly poisoned by an overabundance of wolfsbane.

The comforting thought of Dan possibly joining Phil’s pack sometime in the (far away) future is what finally lulls the wolf to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The 24-hour diner is not bustling with crowds of people at the ungodly hour of two forty seven a.m. The only waiter in sight has his head buried in his hands as he sits on a stool behind the bar and is nearly entering the dream land. His muscles twitch involuntarily, making the artful tattoos on his arms flow with the movement. The dinging of the bell that hangs above the entrance wakes him from his stupor, making him whip his head up rapidly, blond curls bouncing, and he plasters on a smile for the new customer.

“Hi,” he greets as if he’s not just tried to sleep on the job. “What can I get you?” The waiter asks using his silkiest tones and hoping it will earn him an extra tip.

But the new customer is not really paying any attention to him. The brunet is staring at the only other person in the diner – an asian girl of about eighteen years with straight black hair and the same colour eyes, who is too concentrated on her drawing to notice anything happening around her. Or at least she’s pretending to be.

“Coffee, black,” the tall brunet answers without even glancing at the waiter and walks away.

The waiter scowls at his back, murmuring a ‘rude’ and stalks off to make the order.

Dan only rolls his eyes at the waiter’s mumbling, not even gracing him with an icy glare over his shoulder, which he does quite often when people talk about him behind his back; one of the perks of being a vampire. Approaching the table in the corner, he keeps thinking if he should just say hi to the girl and small talk or go straight to business. He doesn’t have that figured out by the time he reaches her and slides in the seat in front of her.

“Reina,” he says in greeting, putting his hands on the table and interlocking his fingers.

“Dan,” the girl replies, eyes still on the drawing. So definitely not as busy as she looks.

“You’re difficult to find these days,” he remarks, opting for the small talk first.

“Not difficult enough, apparently,” she finally looks at him, lips pursed, clearly not happy to see him. “If you’re here on Natalie’s orders, tell her that she can go fuck herself,” Reina sneers, “I’m not going back to being her plaything.”

The brunet grimaces at her words. He was there the whole time that Natalie used Reina and her abilities so he knows that his face might be a reminder of those months.

“No, no, I’m here on my own,” Dan’s quick to assure her. “You’re the only witch I know so I didn’t have many options. Sorry.” He ruffles his hair nervously.

Reina sighs and shakes her head. Her mood is shifting towards something more agreeable as Natalie is no longer in the picture.

“What have you fucked up now, Howell?” She stares at him emotionlessly.

“What?” The vampire sputters. “Why would you assume that I –”

“Cos it’s you,” she rolls her eyes. “You fuck up the most out of the people I know. And I know a lot of people,” she smirks devilishly.

Dan narrows his eyes at her.

“Very funny,” he mumbles, tone flat.

He wants to start telling her why he hunted her down but the waiter traipses along with Dan’s order so he keeps his mouth shut while the coffee is placed in front of him. The blond inquires if they need anything more to which they both say ‘no’ and the guy buggers off, complaining about ‘fucking rude insomniacs’.

“So what favour do you need now?” Reina questions when they’re no longer risking being overheard. She’s adding some shading to a wolf she’s drawing. Which, weird. She’s drawing a wolf when Dan’s come to talk to her about werewolf related problems. Coincidence? Or is she clairvoyant on top of being a witch?

Dan snorts derisively.

“You owe me, like, five favours for what I did for you,” he replies. “You should drop everything and rush to help me. Not that you have anything to drop,” the vampire smirks. He’s stirring his coffee for some reason, even though there’s no sugar in it; force of habit probably.

“You offend me,” the witch mock gasps. “I am plenty busy and you should find someone else to sort your crap out.”

“We both know that you wouldn’t resist meddling in someone else’s business even if you were ‘plenty busy’,” he uses air quotes to annoy her and it, of course, works as she frowns at him. “And it doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything important anyway,” he shrugs a shoulder and glances around, making a point.

“I’m enjoying my free time, you ass,” Reina narrows her eyes at him.

“You should finish school and then you can enjoy your free time,” Dan points out, sipping at the coffee. It tastes disgusting and he scrunches his nose up putting the cup down and pushing it away from himself.

“Fuck off,” she snarls and leans back, putting more space between them; maybe Dan did go a bit overboard. He doesn’t get time to regret his words or apologise as she suddenly asks, “What do you want?”

“There’s this thing I wanted to talk to you about,” he gnaws on his lip, not really sure how to start explaining. You wouldn’t think he had five hours in a car to prepare for this conversation.

“Oh, just spit it out,” the witch huffs, annoyed.

“Is there such a thing as soul mates?” Dan blurts out. “I mean, among supernaturals? Like, different kinds of supernaturals? Is it possible for, I don’t know,” he fakes thinking about it for a second, “a werewolf and a vampire to be soul mates or something like that? To have, like, this instant connection to one another…” He trails off, hands motioning in the air as if he’s hoping to grasp more words out of the ether or something.

“You got yourself deep with this one, huh?” She raises an eyebrow and sighs. “Look, I don’t know everything to ever happen under the sun but, I mean, anything could happen,” she shrugs.

Dan scoffs.

“Very informative, Reina, thank you. I’ll just be on my merry way as you’ve helped me so fucking much,” he slouches in his seat, hands crossed, a frown on his face.

“Hey,” the witch jabs a pencil in his direction. “Don’t be a dick. I’m not some all-knowing two thousand year old witch. I have some books you can leaf through back at mine though,” she offers. “I could also talk to some people but that’s a long shot.”

The vampire worries at his lip again, considering. He saw Phil two nights ago, when the whole trap fiasco happened, and he fed then. It’s unlikely he’ll go unhinged and attack someone when he hasn’t fed for only two, going three, days but with this new only-werewolf diet he’s on he can’t be sure if it’s safe for him to be around people. But then again, he feels fine and he could probably survive another day or two without drinking Phil’s blood. A whole other matter is that he _misses_ (illogical since they’ve known each other for like two weeks but Dan’s learned to roll with it) and quite desperately misses the stupid werewolf and will have to cancel on another night with him. Sacrifices have to be made, though, apparently. He sighs.

“Yeah, okay,” Dan nods rather reluctantly. “I need to know.”

“I’m not promising that you’ll find out something substantial,” Reina cautions, spinning the pencil between her fingers. “But I know a guy you could talk to if it’s a werewolf problem you’re having,” she glances out the window, brow furrowed. “The thing is that he lives quite far off; we’ll have to road trip.”

“Oh, great,” Dan rolls his eyes, tone emotionless. “More driving. I’m so not sick of it yet.”

He spent the past two days in a car. When Phil told him that he won’t be able to meet because of some search party, Dan thought he’d look up his not-so-old friend Reina who might be able to explain the whole bond thing and hopefully squash the vampire’s worries. Turns out that was a waste of time. And he spent a whole two fucking days contacting her old buddies, finding where she frequents and then driving for nearly five hours only for her to say that she knows shit about this. Brilliant.

To think that right now Dan could be with Phil, maybe they’d shamelessly flirt, banter a bit, watch a movie or something. But Dan’s stuck god knows where and without Phil. Ugh.

Reina scoffs.

“I’m not forcing you into this. You’re the one who’s all dramatic and ‘I need to know’,” she mocks his voice and has this constipated look on her face. Dan is not amused.

“Fine,” the vampire groans. “When do we leave?”

“Give me an hour,” the witch replies already cramming her sketchbook into her bag. “Wait here, don’t murder anyone, I’ll be right back,” she says standing up and throwing the bag over her shoulder.

Dan rolls his eyes at her words but then turns in his seat as she’s walking away.

“Rei,” he calls after her. She stops and turns around with a raised eyebrow; he hasn’t called her that in years. “I know you don’t have to do this and I showed up out of the blue but thanks,” the vampire says sincerely, cracking a half smile.

“Don’t get all mushy on me, Howell,” the witch groans. “Besides, we’ve always been in this together,” she shrugs a shoulder and, after saluting him, leaves.

Dan just shakes his head and turns back in his seat. He glances at the offensively bad cup of coffee and frowns; so not worth the money. Not having anything else to do, he pulls out his nearly dead phone. He should find where to charge the thing soon.

There are seventeen missed calls and four text messages from Natalie. Dan ignores all of it. She’s either asking why it’s taking him so long or ordering him to get back right at this second. Fuck her and her controlling nature.

Also, surprise surprise, there’s no wi-fi in this hole. Awesome. What is he supposed to do now? Stare at a wall for an hour? How can people live like this?

Just as Dan wants to bang his forehead on the table in front of him, a message pings on his phone, saving him from immediate boredom.

_Phil: When are you coming back?_

Now that could be interpreted as a simple inquiry from a friend who is trying to plan ahead and wondering when he’ll have to squeeze Dan into his tight schedule. Or, as Dan’s brain chooses to interpret it, Phil misses Dan as much as the vampire misses the werewolf and is thinking about him at three a.m. That immensely pleases the brunet’s ego.

_Phil: Sorry, you’re probably busy and it’s late. I don’t want to disturb you._

Dan smiles down at his phone. Isn’t Phil just the cutest most considerate ball of sunshine?

_Phil: But you’re also a vampire who doesn’t sleep at night so I guess I’m not disturbing you?_

And now he’s rambling awkwardly via texts and Dan just has to save him from further embarrassment.

_Dan: youre not disturbing im just waiting for someone actually im glad for the distraction this place has no wi-fi like how???_

_Dan: and ill be gone for at least one more day_

The vampire makes a face at the screen. He wants to see Phil now and wants to hear his voice and run his hands through Phil’s hair and maybe make out with him a little. Oh, Dan’s so turning into one of those sappy people who can’t be away from their partner for even a day. But fuck it, Dan’s going to own it. So his heart speeds up just a little when he types the next message – ‘call me??’.

After a couple of seconds the phone’s screen lights up with Phil’s name and a picture of the werewolf covered in flour from that time they were baking something. The sight of Phil in such a state brings a grin to Dan’s face.

“Hi,” the vampire answers after only the second ring.

“Hey,” the quality of Phil’s voice over the phone is not the best but Dan will take what he can get. “I thought you said you’re gonna be gone only for a day,” is that a whine Dan hears coming from Phil?

“Yeah, I didn’t think it would take this long,” the vampire is drawing imaginary circles on the table with his pointer, and smirking to himself thinking that Phil might need him just as much.

“So what exactly are you doing for your creator?” Phil questions, tone impatient.

Right. That. Dan might have fibbed a little when Phil asked why Dan’s suddenly travelling across the country. It’s not that Dan doesn’t trust Phil or something, it was just easier to tell the werewolf that he’s running an errand for Natalie rather than admit that he’s looking for answers about their supernatural-and-hopefully-not-one-sided bond.

“Um,” the brunet stalls a bit, glancing around for no reason. The diner is still empty and the waiter is dozing off behind the counter. “I just have to find this person, ask them a few questions. But it looks like they’re harder to find than I thought.”

Well, it’s almost the truth at least.

“Oh, so nothing dangerous?” Phil sounds relieved.

“Nope,” Dan replies, popping the p. “Totally a safe search. You’ll have me back in one piece. No need to lose sleep worrying about me at three a.m.” As soon as the words leave Dan’s mouth, the vampire closes his eyes in horror and smacks himself on the forehead. Why does he have to say stupid shit like that? Why does he have to make it sound like they’re _together_?

But Phil only laughs.

“Good to know,” the werewolf says, a smile still in his voice. “Where are you? Or is that top secret too?”

“I have no idea, to be honest,” Dan looks out the window but even with his enhanced vision there’s not much to see, only a wall of trees. “Some town in the middle of nowhere. But I’ll be leaving soon. How’s the situation with the hunters?”

He’s back at drawing mindless patterns, though now he’s also chewing on his bottom lip. He doesn’t like thinking about Phil all alone when there are nearly two dozen hunters running around. His mind supplies that Phil’s got his whole pack and he’s not a defenceless damsel in distress but Dan felt better when he was there and could potentially keep Phil safe.

“Ugh,” Phil groans in answer. “We neutralised all the traps we could find but Eric thinks we still shouldn’t go to that part of the territory. Not that we went there often anyway. But other than that nothing new happened. Everybody’s on edge though; waiting for the next shoe to drop. And we’re just getting on each other’s nerves and it’s a mess,” he sighs and then his voice gets smaller. “One of my pack mates thinks that the hunters are doing the whole divide and conquer thing. They want us as stressed and against each other as possible. I’m afraid they’re succeeding and I don’t know what to do,” the last part is barely a whisper and Dan doesn’t know if he just imagined it.

Dan’s heart clenches at Phil’s words and the desperation in his tone. Without realising, he’s started nervously tapping his fingers on the table.

“Hey,” the vampire says softly. “We’ll figure this out. They won’t destroy your pack,” he tries to reassure.

Phil sighs again.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he agrees, sounding more sure of himself. “It’s gonna be fine, we’ll survive this. We’ve survived Ethan joining the pack, this’ll be easy.”

Dan smiles at the table. Phil psyching himself up is just the cutest. But there’s another ping on the phone, dampening Dan’s mood.

“My phone’s about to die,” the vampire murmurs. “I’d like to talk to you longer,” he sighs.

“Yeah, me too,” Phil replies equally quietly. “But you’re getting back soon, right?” He asks with more enthusiasm in his voice.

“Right,” Dan affirms, nodding. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you,” the werewolf says, a smile in his voice.

And then they’re disconnected and Dan’s glaring at the mocking one per cent next to the battery icon. Phone now useless, he pockets it and reaches over for some napkins, starting to tear them apart.

Half an hour and a sizeable pile of shredded napkins later, Reina returns with a bag slung over her shoulder. She lifts an eyebrow at the mess Dan’s made but doesn’t say a word. The vampire gets up, leaving it all for the waiter to clean up. It’s a favour really, it will keep the blond awake.

They drive even further down south and Dan can’t help but think how awful it will be to spend eleven or so hours driving back home. The sun starts to rise a few hours into the journey and Reina takes the wheel while Dan relocates to the back seat hiding every inch of his skin under a blanket. They don’t talk much. The vampire is grateful for that as he catches up on some sleep, only the quiet hum of the engine providing background noise, and has a chance to look through some of Reina’s books. Those turn out to be useless; there seems to be a pattern.

By midday, after stopping for some gas and grabbing a bite to eat, they finally reach their destination. The sky is overcast, threatening rain, but at least it means that Dan can walk around the town without the fear of burning to a crisp. When they park the car, Reina leads him down a few streets, walking confidently, like she’s been here before. And maybe she has; Dan has no idea where she ran after escaping from Natalie.

They stop in front of a herbal shop. It looks plain enough and even inside there aren’t that many witchy stuff, at least not the kind Dan expected there to be. Behind the counter stands a guy, seemingly of Dan’s age. He’s got white hair, is completely pale, and his eyes are a pastel shade of red. His lips curl into a smile as he looks Dan up and down.

“This the vampire you called me about?” The guy asks without preamble, directing his gaze to Reina.

“Yep,” the witch answers, going closer to him and hopping on the counter. “Dan, this is Garrett. He used to be an emissary to a pack that lived here so I figured he’d know something,” she shrugs a shoulder and glances back at Garrett who nods in affirmation.

“I might be able to help you,” Garrett grins and then motions to a door behind the counter. “Come this way, please.”

Dan turns to Reina, ignoring the guy for now, and lifts an eyebrow in question.

“He’s totally cool,” the witch assures.

The vampire is not really placated but walks behind the counter and after Garrett. The room where they end up is not big, with shelves full of bottles and jars lining all the walls. There’s a round table in the middle and a couple of chairs.

“Sit,” Garrett orders, pointing to one of said chairs.

Dan does as ordered and watches as Garrett produces four candles, lighting them, then puts a bowl in the middle of the table, and places some bottles filled with herbs in front of his own seat.

“So, Dan,” the guy smiles at him, taking the other chair, “tell me about your problem.”

“Hasn’t Reina already briefed you?” The brunet wonders as Garrett is opening bottles and getting herbs out of them. “You seem like you already know what to do.”

“I need to hear it from you,” Garrett replies, a pleasant smile plastered on his face. “Just tell me when you met, how you met, what bothers you now, how you’re feeling, what you’re thinking. It will all help me to help you,” he grins toothily.

Dan doesn’t trust him one bit. Nevertheless, the vampire sighs, ruffles his hair, and answers the questions.

“We met a couple of weeks ago during a hunt,” the vampire begins. “We were the ones being hunted, if that’s relevant,” he shrugs not really knowing how much detail the guy needs. “He was dying, I was too. I took him to my place and healed him –”

“Why?” Garrett interrupts. He’s not looking at Dan, too concerned with his herb mix.

“What do you mean ‘why’?” Dan furrows his brows. “I couldn’t just let him die.”

“But at the moment he was a werewolf whom you’ve never met before. Why did you care?” Garrett then looks up at him, his gaze makes Dan squirm.

“I don’t know,” the vampire shrugs. “I just did it.”

Garrett lifts an eyebrow, staring steadily into Dan’s eyes. The vampire rolls his eyes, huffing.

“I had this feeling like I had to take care of him,” he admits, albeit grudgingly. “I was worried about him. Instantly.”

The guy smirks and nods.

“Continue,” he says.

“So I healed him and in return he gave me his blood so I could –”

“You drank his blood?” Garrett says, seemingly genuinely surprised. Dan doesn’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.

“Yeah,” the brunet draws out. “And I can’t drink anyone else’s blood anymore.”

“Hmm,” is all Garrett manages before returning to his herbs. He’s just as helpful as Reina for now. Brilliant.

“We’ve been meeting for the past week, and the feelings are intensifying,” Dan frowns. “And not just like simple attraction. I think some sort of emotional bond is forming,” he gnaws on his lip. “I don’t know,” he runs a hand through his hair. “It seems like everything’s just happening too fast, like I shouldn’t care about him this much, but I do and it’s scary. I don’t know if it’s actually me who’s feeling all this.”

“Understandable,” Garrett nods a couple times, impassive. “Is he feeling the same way?”

Dan lifts an eyebrow and snorts.

“Like I asked him,” he says. “I can’t just come up to the guy and say that I think some sort of magical bond is forming between us. It’s ridiculous.”

“You’re a vampire and he’s a werewolf,” Garrett deadpans. “I don’t think magical bonds are an outrageous thought.”

The brunet only rolls his eyes.

“So it _is_ some sort of soul mate bond then?” Dan wonders.

Garrett doesn’t answer, he’s still mixing the herbs, making some sort of white paste out of them. A few minutes pass in silence and Dan’s losing all his patience, his leg is bouncing up and down under the small table. Finally, Garrett seems to be happy with his mixture.

“Give me your left hand,” he orders.

Dan extends his arm worriedly. The candles are on either side of his forearm, too close for his liking, and he has no idea what Garrett is about to do. The guy only rolls up Dan’s sleeve, draws a weird ass symbol on Dan’s forearm, and starts chanting something under his breath while holding Dan’s wrist. Not the most bizarre thing the brunet’s seen but still on the weird list.

“Hmm,” Garrett hums again, opening his pale red eyes and staring at Dan’s arm. The vampire glances down too. The symbol has now changed colour into burgundy red, only the edges of it are still white.

“What does this mean?” Dan asks. He’s so not good at interpreting people’s hums, and can’t figure out if Garrett meant it as a good sign or a bad one.

“Interesting,” is all Garrett answers.

“Brilliant,” Dan rolls his eyes. “But is that good interesting or not?”

“Depends,” Garrett shrugs and Dan wants to strangle the answers out of him.

“On what?” The vampire grits through his teeth.

“You, mainly,” the guy smiles.

Dan’s vision blurs and he’s pretty sure that his eyes are turning black. Garrett only laughs, letting go of his wrist.

“You see, Dan, werewolves have mates,” the guy finally starts explaining. “Soul mates, if you will. For them it’s easy to know and accept when they find theirs. And it’s usually not complicated, mostly it’s someone from the same pack, or a human. Your case is not that common or simple.”

“Of course, not,” Dan murmurs to himself. Fuck his luck.

“You’re also a supernatural, as your werewolf mate,” Garrett continues, not paying attention to Dan cringing at the words ‘your werewolf mate’. “This complicates things as vampires don’t have the ability to form soul mate connections. For werewolves, it’s part of their being, a werewolf is never happier as being with their mate. For you, however, conflict ensues. You’re wondering whether it’s by your own choice or if you’re forced into this relationship. Werewolves, on the other hand, accept the mate bond without much thought, it’s natural for them.”

“So you’re saying Phil knows I’m his –” Dan motions with his hand, not really wanting to say the word.

“Most likely,” Garrett nods. “Another problem is that you drank his blood on the first day you met and formed another kind of bond with him; one that occurs between a vampire and their lover.”

“How is that a problem?” Dan wonders carefully, not sure if he wants to know.

“Vampires can change human lovers, werewolves can’t change their mates,” Garrett says and then glances away briefly. “Now, you’ve got yourself a lover and a mate bond mixed, doubled in a way. You won’t be able to find another lover, another mate, and you won’t survive without your werewolf’s blood. But you’re immortal, Dan, and werewolves are not,” Garrett purses his lips, glancing down.

Right. Shit.

“Oh,” Dan says, stunned, he hadn’t thought about it. If they’re both not killed by the hunters roaming around their city, Phil will get old and die while Dan stays frozen as he is. Forever. Without the ability to keep strangers’ blood down. Yep, that’s a problem.

“Also, because of the blood drinking, your bond formed faster,” Garrett continues after letting the thought settle in Dan’s brain. “The mark,” he gestures to Dan’s left forearm, “shows that your bond is nearly complete. It would have formed bit by bit, and you would have had time to get used to the emotional attachment, now it just seems forced to you.”

“But it is forced,” Dan argues. “I can’t leave him,” he mumbles. Like he can’t leave Natalie. He’s trapped. Again. Is there suddenly no air in this room or has breathing always been this difficult?

“Dan, breathe,” Garrett says soothingly. “It’s alright, I can break the bond if you want.”

The brunet’s head snaps up at that. He stares into Garrett’s eyes, searching for a lie, but sees nothing.

“You can break it?” Dan repeats, his breathing is settling but his hands are shaking slightly.

“If you both agree on it, it can be done,” Garrett shrugs. “It’s extremely painful, though. And I need both of you.”

“Yeah, okay,” Dan nods a few times. He could persuade Phil. Maybe.

Wait. Is he really thinking about this? Breaking their bond? Losing Phil? But he can’t survive without him only because of the bond. The stupid _werewolf_ mate bond. Dan grits his teeth, clenching his hands into fists. If the bond were gone, he’d feel differently, he wouldn’t be missing a person he barely knows, he wouldn’t want to spend every minute of his life with a werewolf, he would be able to drink human blood again. And he’d be lonely, losing the only sunshine in his miserable life. Ugh. Why is it so complicated?

“Think about it,” Garrett suggests seeing Dan’s internal struggle. “Talk to your werewolf and think about it some more. This is not a decision you should make lightly,” he cautions.

Dan only nods another few times and then runs his fingers through his hair, grabbing onto a few strands and pulling slightly as he sighs deeply. This is such a mess.

He sits there for a few minutes, silently contemplating his deeply fucked up life. Later Reina comes and helps him up, leading him to the car and stuffing him in the back. Dan falls asleep before they even drive out of the town.

***

The waning moon is up in the sky overshadowed by a couple of clouds. Stars are dotted in the black abyss, shimmering. The town is quiet.

Dan starts awake as usual, his heart beating an erratic rhythm after having stopped for half a second. The memories rush back to his head as he slowly sits up. Through the windshield he sees already familiar streets.

“What is going on?” He asks Reina, rubbing at his eyes.

“I’m driving your ass home after you had a fucking mental breakdown,” the witch answers nonchalantly, shrugging a shoulder.

Fuck. That happened. But wait.

“How do you know where I live?” Dan frowns at the back of her head.

“Your GPS,” Reina points to the device. “I can be quite the detective when I want.”

“You shouldn’t have,” the vampire sighs. “Natalie –”

“Will not know I’m here as you’re not telling her shit,” she finishes and glares back at him briefly before focusing on the road.

“Yeah, sure,” he agrees easily.

His head feels like it’s full of cotton and thinking is not coming easy; probably a consequence of a mental breakdown. All Dan knows is that he’s extremely thirsty but even Reina’s strong and steady heartbeat is not appealing to him. Damn it; he needs Phil.

“How long was I out?” Dan wonders, swallowing around the itchiness in his throat.

“Like thirteen hours or so,” the witch answers. “I even had time to stop by my place and pick up a few things. I’m staying with you,” she turns to him and flashes him a grin. Dan only groans and falls back onto the seat.

They reach his loft a few minutes later. Reina stuffs his hands with her baggage and tells him that she’s going to pick up some food for them. Dan listens to her without argument and just goes back to his place, finally.

After dumping Reina’s things in the spare bedroom, Dan returns to his room and plugs his phone to charge. As soon as the device is working, he checks the messages. He’s got even more from Natalie. To her he sends that he’s back and he’ll see her tomorrow night. Then there are a couple messages from Phil. Dan doesn’t open those.

Reina comes back with takeout soon enough. They sit on the living room floor, eating silently.

“So,” the witch begins. “Did you have hot sex on the couch?” She indicates the scratches Phil left.

Dan chokes on his food.

“No, Jesus,” he manages to say after he’s breathing again.

“Really? I thought it got so intense that he clawed your couch,” she smirks. “So is it all vanilla then?”

“Oh my god,” Dan groans. “I’m not discussing my sex life with you.”

Reina cackles like a true stereotypical witch. At least _she’s_ having fun.

“When’s your boy coming over?” she asks after a minute.

Dan pretends that he’s completely absorbed in the chewing of his food but Reina’s patient. She lifts an eyebrow at him.

“I haven’t told him I’m back,” the brunet admits silently.

“Why?” She frowns. “You’re like madly in love. Don’t you want him to be here asap?”

“I do,” Dan worries at his lip. “But at the same time I don’t. It’s complicated,” he sighs.

Reina makes a noncommittal sound that lets Dan know she doesn’t believe him. Dan’s not sure if _he_ believes himself. It is, indeed, complicated.

Upstairs, a phone starts ringing. It’s Dan’s. The vampire gets up and is standing next to his bedside table in no time. The screen says ‘Phil’ and a picture of a floury werewolf is on display.

“Yeah,” Dan answers when he’s afraid the phone will stop ringing.

“Dan,” Phil sighs in relief. “I was worried. I haven’t heard from you all day.”

“Um,” the brunet drops down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. “My phone died, didn’t have where to charge it. But I’m back now.”

“Great,” the werewolf says with enthusiasm. “I’m coming over then,” Dan hears rustling in the background as Phil’s getting ready. “Unless you don’t want me to?” Phil questions as Dan hasn’t said anything.

“Yeah, no, you should come,” he tries to force some cheer into his voice but it’s difficult. Part, the larger part, of him is ecstatic at the opportunity to see Phil again after so long ( _not that long,_ his brain supplies _, it’s the bond manipulating you_ ). But the other part is feeling like crap for lying to the werewolf about the trip and even considering breaking their bond.

“Okay,” Phil says hesitantly. “Are you sure?”

Damn him and his sunshine tendencies.

“I’m sure,” Dan answers with more conviction.

“Good, I’ll be there in ten,” there’s a smile in his voice and Dan prefers it this way.

Back downstairs, Reina’s eating Dan’s portion of the food. The vampire snarls at her, making his eyes go black, but the little witch only sticks her tongue out and keeps eating.

“For this you’re making dinner tomorrow,” he points at her as he sits in his armchair.

“By making you mean ordering more takeout? Or do you want to repeat the disaster that is me attempting to cook?” She smirks.

Dan scrunches up his nose, he’ll never forget _that_ smell.

“Takeout sounds about right,” he shrugs a shoulder.

“Wise choice,” she jabs a fork in his direction and wolfs down the rest of the food. Dan knows that she needs more of it to account for her not sleeping, like ever, but he still would have liked to finish his chicken.

As Reina tries to stuff all the containers into Dan’s bin, there’s a knock on the door. Dan’s instantly out of his seat and is opening the door so enthusiastically that the hinges creak. Phil’s standing there in all his smiley glory and Dan can’t help but beam back at him. And then he’s got arms full of werewolf. Who, for some reason, growls and leans back from Dan, eyes glowing amber as he glances around, spotting Reina and looking at her in confusion.

“That’s my friend, Reina,” Dan intends to step back from Phil but the werewolf growls, tightening his grip and narrowing his eyes at the witch who’s watching them with a smirk.

The vampire rolls his eyes. He’s so not into the whole jealous werewolf thing.

“Her scent is all over you,” Phil says accusingly and wrinkles his nose. He’s also got his fangs out. Great.

“Probably because we were in a small car for the entirety of the day,” Reina responds. “Don’t worry, I didn’t touch your vampire. Inappropriately,” she grins wickedly and Dan wants to growl at her too.

“Right,” he says instead.

He pries Phil’s arms from around himself, twining their fingers together for reassurance as the werewolf’s eyes are still glowing yellow even if his fangs have disappeared. Dan pushes the door closed and drags Phil closer to Reina.

“She’s the one you had to find?” Phil near snarls out and Dan lifts an eyebrow at him. The werewolf doesn’t notice, he’s too focused on killing Reina with the power of his glare.

“No,” Dan lies easily. Reina doesn’t react and he’s grateful to her for that. “But she is staying here for a couple of days.”

“With you?” The wolf growls again.

“Yes, with me. Do you have a problem with that?” Dan grits his teeth. He steps away from Phil, removing all points of contact and crossing his arms.

Phil seems to sober up. His eyes change back to normal blue and he looks sheepish.

“No, sorry,” he scratches at the back of his neck, glancing down. “It’s just that her scent is weird,” he shrugs a shoulder.

“ _She_ has a name, it’s Reina,” the witch butts in.

“Sorry,” the wolf apologises again. “I’m Phil.” But he doesn’t step closer to her or try to shake her hand.

“So I smell weird, huh?” She raises an eyebrow, a faint smile on her lips.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Phil raises his hands. “Magic has this distinctive scent. You’re a witch, right?”

“Yep,” she smirks fully now. “You can smell that?”

Phil nods a couple times, glancing at Dan carefully like a puppy who knows he’s done something bad. The vampire has a blank face on.

“You’re here to help us deal with the hunters?” The werewolf wonders.

“Hunters?” Reina turns to Dan. “You didn’t say anything about that.”

“Must have slipped my mind,” the brunet shrugs, pointedly staring at Phil.

“Alright,” the witch draws out the word. “I’ll leave you two to talk,” she glances between them a couple times and then heads to the stairs, soon disappearing onto the second floor.

They’re silent for a minute. Dan’s just staring impassively and Phil’s squirming under his gaze, his fingers twitching.

“Sorry,” he says for the third time. “Werewolf instincts kicked in. Won’t happen again.”

“What if more of my friends come to visit?” Dan asks.

“There are more witches coming?” Phil frowns, scrunching up his nose. Dan sighs.

“No, no one’s coming,” the vampire replies, rolling his eyes. “But what you did was extremely rude. I don’t need you asserting your territory over me or whatever werewolf bullshit that was.”

“It wasn’t like that, Dan!” Phil whines, stepping closer. “I haven’t seen you in days, and I wasn’t expecting someone else’s scent on you, my wolf got confused. You’re my m–” He trips over the word but Dan knows what he intended to say; whether it’s scary or comforting, Dan’s not yet sure. “You’re my friend. If there’s a threat, I’m going to react.”

“She’s not a threat,” Dan assures him. “Reina’s an old friend. I trust her.”

“Okay, that’s enough for me then,” the werewolf nods, though he doesn’t seem too happy about Reina staying over at Dan’s. Whatever. If Dan can deal with the whole bond debacle, Phil can deal with this.

They end up in their usual positions: Dan’s sitting in the armchair with his laptop and already second cup of Phil’s blood (the werewolf insisted because Dan hadn’t fed for a few days and who’s Dan to say no to blood?), and Phil’s lying on the destroyed sofa, phone in hand. Reina is staying upstairs doing god knows what as she is quiet as a church mouse.

A couple minutes past three a.m. Dan turns to Phil to ask him a question but the werewolf is already asleep, phone resting on his chest. The vampire smiles at the sight and lets him rest, only throwing a blanket over him, even though as a werewolf he’s unlikely to get chilly but Dan feels obligated to take care of him. He figures he doesn’t mind it much.

Phil’s alarm blares obnoxiously at half past seven and the werewolf startles awake, rolling to the side and falling on the ground as he didn’t realise the narrowness of the surface he lied on. Dan’s laughing so hard his sides hurt. Groaning, Phil gets up and glares at the brunet.

“Not funny,” he mutters, rubbing at his eyes.

“Oh, believe me, it was quite funny,” the vampire giggles.

“Shut up,” Phil pushes at his shoulder as he passes the brunet and makes him nearly topple over the arm of the chair. Dan squeaks indignantly and Phil throws him a smile over his shoulder.

The werewolf rummages through Dan’s cupboards as the vampire rights himself. Having found a glass, Phil fills it with tap water. Dan wants to make some comment on how gross and probably not healthy tap water is but Phil’s a werewolf, he can’t catch anything, so he just turn back to the screen of his laptop.

There’s a choking sound, something smashes onto the floor, and Dan’s turning around in record speed. He watches as Phil falls to the ground, clutching at his throat. Dan’s kneeling next to him in an instant.

Blood is gushing out of Phil’s mouth, his eyes rolled back into his skull. He’s coughing, choking on the blood, his body is convulsing. And Dan can’t fucking concentrate. His vision blurs. There’s too much blood, the scent of it is overwhelming. The monster inside him is yelling at him to rip Phil’s throat out and drink every last drop. Resisting seems too difficult a task. Dan leans forward.

Another scent joins the one of blood, distracting him. Burning flesh. Dan glances around, the sun can’t reach to the kitchen so it can’t be him. He notices a burn on Phil’s arm where the spilled water touches it.

“Wolfsbane?” Dan mutters to himself, frowning.

Phil coughs up more blood, suffocating on it. Dan refocuses. It doesn’t help as he has no idea what to do. And Phil’s dying. He can’t die. Not Phil.

“No no no no no,” Dan’s chanting, tears already spilling. Then he remembers: he’s not alone. “Reina!” He shouts again and again until the witch runs stumbling down the stairs.

She stops right in front of them, eyes wide at the pool of blood, the hardly breathing Phil.

“Shit,” she whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to imagine they're in the US so that's why they could drive for so long..


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might love me and hate me a lot at the end of this chapter.

Phil’s head is about to explode. No air is coming into his lungs. His throat is burning, melting on the inside. He wants to claw it out. All of his senses are near non-existent. What does exist is pain. Searing, agonizing, scorching pain. He tries to howl, scream, do anything but he’s choking and there’s no air there’s no air there’s no air…

His mate is beside him. The presence is soothing even when faced with death. He can’t leave him alone, not when the threats have not been eliminated. And his pack. His pack needs him now more than ever. There’s strength in numbers, wolves are stronger together, he can’t betray his pack like this.

He hears voices. He immediately recognises his mate’s but the female one is not as easily placed.

“–something, please,” he sounds broken. That’s not right. His mate should not sound like this.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” the female is distressed. “Right. Your blood. Vampire blood has healing abilities.”

“ _He_ has healing abilities! It’s not working for him!”

There’s hissing and snarling and some sort of ringing but it’s muffled, too far away.

“Your blood is more potent, idiot!”

“He’s already _choking_ on blood!”

“Do you want to argue and let him die or are you going to do as I say?!”

“Shit shit shit,” his mate chants and then there’s silence.

It goes away as soon as it appeared. The pain subsides and every muscle in his body is only humming with discomfort as the healing kicks back in. He can finally breathe so he takes big gulps, tasting overwhelming copper in his mouth. The dim lights are too bright and he squints, blinking A phone is ringing annoyingly and loudly in the background. His senses are amped up, everything’s a bit too much. Then his mate is hugging him.

“You’re alive, shit, you’re alive,” Dan’s whispering, voice hoarse, and Phil can do nothing but hug him back.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Phil croaks, throat still burning, as he inhales the comforting scent of his mate.

When Dan finally lets him go, Phil notices the tear tracks down his cheeks, puffiness around his eyes. The vampire quickly wipes at his cheeks with a sleeve, turning his head away. Phil’s wolf rumbles in worry but is also pleased that their mate is so worried about them, that he cares.

Not wanting to put emphasis on Dan’s state, Phil glances down at himself to assess the damage. His shirt is matted to his skin, drenched in blood. His arm is burning up, and as he looks it over he sees several wolfsbane induced burns.

“What?..” He asks puzzled, turning to Dan, who’s looking more collected now.

“Wolfsbane in the water supply, I suppose,” he nods his chin at the smashed glass and the clear liquid all over the floor.

“Hunters,” Phil growls, eyes flashing yellow, claws out.

“Seems you have a really tricky situation going on,” Reina butts in. She’s standing behind Dan, arms crossed.

Phil can’t help it, he glares at her. He’s still angry over the fact that she got to spend time with Dan, Phil’s time. And his wolf is extremely unhappy that their mate smells of another person; it’s just offensive.

“My phone,” the werewolf grunts as he tries to stand up. Emphasis on ‘tries’ because he falls flat on his ass. Dan lifts an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “I have to warn the pack,” Phil explains, irritated. The vampire nods and goes in search of said phone as Phil clutches his head, willing the world to stop spinning. There’s ringing again.

“Couldn’t you smell the wolfsbane?” Reina wonders. She’s kneeling by the puddle, staring at the spilled water, wading her fingers through it.

“No,” Phil answers curtly. Like he would have drunk poisoned water if he were able to smell it; does she think he’s stupid?

“Here,” Dan presses the phone into Phil’s hand.

The werewolf only nods his thanks, it still hurts to talk. There are seven missed calls. Phil ignores them and finds Eric’s number, pressing ‘call’. Dan’s hovering near him, eyes running over Phil’s form. Phil’s wolf whines in need of comfort and so Phil reaches out, twining his fingers with Dan’s. The vampire smiles softly.

“It’s too fucking early for this,” Nathan’s groggy voice sounds through Phil’s phone.

“Where’s Eric?” Phil asks without preamble.

“You sound like shit,” Nate remarks, yawning. “Your Alpha’s out. Kevin spotted the omega that you were hunting a couple weeks ago during his rounds. They’re searching for him.”

“Oh, brilliant,” Phil huffs sarcastically. And he thought they couldn’t get more fucked. The universe seemingly loves to prove him wrong. “Just tell everyone not to drink tap water. And not to shower. The hunters put wolfsbane in the water supply.”

Dan’s running his thumb over Phil’s knuckles, looking all concerned. The werewolf offers him a small smile, squeezing their fingers together. No matter how much his wolf enjoys the attention they’re getting from their mate, it’s not worth seeing him worried.

“Fuck,” Nathan groans. “Alright, I’ll warn everyone. Eric’s gonna flip out,” he sighs.

“Yeah, I know,” Phil agrees and chews on his lip. Now it’s going to be even harder to stop Eric from attacking the hunters head on. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” Nathan says, voice small, the fatigue of dealing with problem after problem already setting in. Then he curses, and says in a rush, “Luke and Noah are not staying with us, and Olivia’s at her mom’s. They might’ve already used water.”

“I’ll get Liv, you call Luke,” the beta quickly decides. But he’s not that worried about them, he would’ve felt if something was wrong through the pack bonds. “And contact the others, one of them has to have a phone on them.”

“Yeah, okay,” the Alpha’s mate agrees easily. “See you soon.”

The line disconnects. Phil checks the missed calls: four of them are from Olivia, one from Luke and the rest are from Kate. They must’ve felt his near death experience. How he’ll explain evading said near death experience is beyond him.

“We need to heal your burns,” Dan says, frowning at Phil’s injured arm.

“I need to wash it out but the water is contaminated,” Phil sighs. Fuck the hunters and their cunning.

“Not anymore,” Reina announces smugly.

The werewolf turns to her. She’s got two large bowls in front of her, both filled with clear liquid, none on the ground. Apparently, while Phil was talking on the phone, she kept herself busy.

“I separated the wolfsbane from the water,” the witch explains. “I can manipulate elements quite easily so don’t worry, it’s one hundred per cent clean,” she assures as she pushes a bowl in his direction.

Phil lifts an eyebrow at her; maybe he rushed a bit with the judging before, she might prove to be useful.

“Thanks,” he murmurs and very unwillingly lets go of Dan’s hand to take care of his wounds.

“Could you do that to the whole of the water supply?” Dan wonders, looking at Reina. His hand has found its way to Phil’s thigh and he seems to be subconsciously stroking it soothingly. A corner of Phil’s lips quirks upwards.

“Yeah, I think so,” the witch chews on her lip. “It’s gonna take some time, though.”

“Okay,” Dan nods. “Then I’ll drive you to the water tower,” he stands up but the witch is not moving. The vampire lifts an impatient eyebrow at her and purses his lips.

“I’ll need a lot of energy for that kind of thing,” Reina says. “I need food.”

The brunet scoffs but fishes his phone out of his pocket and, Phil assumes, calls a delivery place.

Wounds cleaned, Phil dries them off with some paper towels offered by Reina, and finally gets his ass off the ground. The healing kicks in almost instantly and he can feel the tingling going up and down his arm. His throat and insides are also feeling a lot better. Well, he doesn’t want to claw anything out, so it’s progress.

While Dan’s on the phone and Reina is sweeping up the glass, Phil leans against a counter and calls his best friend. Olivia answers instantly.

“Are you okay?” The beta blurts out anxiously without even a greeting.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he rubs at his throat, sticky with blood. Ew. He makes a face. “Hunters put wolfsbane in the water so don’t use any.”

Olivia uses a few of her favourite and most colourful swears, it brings a smile to Phil’s face.

“What happened?” She asks.

“Had a drink,” Phil answers her. “But my healing kicked in, it’s alright,” he lies and cringes at how flimsy it sounds.

She hums noncommittally, not really accepting his words but not really arguing his point either. Phil so needs to work on his lying game.

“Everyone’s meeting at Eric’s,” he informs her, hoping to distract her. “You want me to stop by so we could go together?”

“No,” Olivia replies. “I’ve got my car. I’ll see you there.”

Phil says goodbye and hangs up. He lifts his eyes to Dan, who’s standing opposite him, leaning against the kitchen island.

“You have to go, I know,” he smiles lightly. “Reina and I will take care of the water situation.”

“Pfft,” the witch snorts derisively. “As if you’ll be doing anything. It’s me who’s doing all the hard work.”

“Do you know where the water tower is?” Dan crosses his hands, looking at her with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Reina narrows her eyes at him but doesn’t reply. The vampire smirks.

Phil knows he shouldn’t be reacting to this. They’re just friends. But neither his wolf nor him like how chummy the vampire and the witch are. It makes him want to claim Dan, mark him as Phil’s so that the whole world would know. The werewolf’s fingers twitch. Before he can do something stupid, like kiss Dan senseless in front of Reina, Phil pushes off the counter.

“I better get going,” he murmurs.

“Don’t you want to change first?” Dan questions, frowning at the way Phil looks like a murderer or a victim who got very lucky.

The werewolf only shakes his head.

“I can’t wear one of your shirts cos it’ll smell like you. Besides, the blood is masking the fact that I spent the whole night here.”

The brunet simply nods in understanding.

“Don’t turn into a pile of ash,” Phil tells Dan, trying to lighten this whole situation as he glances out the window. The blinds are closed, as always, but it’s obviously bright outside.

“I’ll try not to,” the vampire rolls his eyes. “I’ll call when we’re done.”

Reina scoffs at that, murmuring a sarcastic ‘we’. They don’t pay her any attention.

“Alright. See you tonight,” Phil smiles.

The werewolf runs his fingers down the vampire’s arm as he passes the latter, heading for the door. Dan huffs.

“I know what you’re doing,” the brunet calls after him, making Phil smirk. “She’s a witch not a wolf, scent marking means nothing to her.”

“Why would you think it’s for her sake?” Phil quirks an eyebrow up at Dan and then closes the door behind himself.

***

Phil reaches his Alpha’s home in record time. He can already hear the rest of the pack milling inside. Apparently, they got back from the hunt sooner than he thought.

“The hell happened to you?” Seth gapes at him as soon as Phil steps through the door.

“Phil,” Eric calls all worried and appears in the doorway leading to the lounge. His eyebrows lift in surprise at Phil’s appearance.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Phil assures him.

He moves closer to his Alpha and gratefully accepts his hand on the back of Phil’s neck rubbing soothing circles. His wolf purrs in contentment at their Alpha’s attention.

Phil receives similar looks of disbelief and worry from the rest of the pack and he has to reiterate several times that he’s fine. But he gladly accepts all the physical comfort. Sometimes being in a pack is not that bad.

“How did you survive?” Ethan asks like he’d rather Phil didn’t as he looks him up and down.

Phil sighs and goes with the plan he thought of while driving here. It’s not the whole truth but true enough for them to back off.

“A witch helped me,” he says cautiously, watching the pack react. Some of them look surprised, others are blank, the Alpha narrows his eyes at him. “The truth is that I stayed at my mate’s last night,” there are a few people already wanting to interrupt but Phil lifts his hand and continues, “and he’s got a friend who is a witch staying over. She saved me and right now they’re heading to the water tower to take care of this whole poisoned water problem. So hopefully we won’t have to worry about it for long.”

There’s silence after he finishes. Then Olivia huffs next to him and punches him on the arm. Hard. Phil rubs at the spot, pouting at her.

“You found your mate and you didn’t tell me? Dick,” she crosses her arms and frowns.

“Do you want me to send someone to ensure their safety?” Eric asks. His eyebrows are scrunched up and he’s clearly not happy Phil harboured such a secret from the whole pack but he’s willing to let it slide and that’s more than Phil hoped for.

“No,” he shakes his head. “They can take care of themselves.” At least Phil hopes they can.

“Alright,” the Alpha nods. “So until we get the all clear from the witch, use the water from the stream nearby,” he pointedly looks at Phil and the state of his blood soaked person. The beta only rolls his eyes.

“How did it go with the omega?” Phil asks, trying to distract everyone from himself.

“Didn’t catch him yet. We’ll go out tonight again,” Eric answers. Nathan’s by his side, rubbing his mate’s back soothingly. “I just hope he doesn’t go on some killing spree,” he runs a hand down his face and Phil finally notices how completely _drained_ his Alpha is. Phil’s inner wolf whines at that, wanting to help. He should probably show more initiative and shoulder more responsibilities, he’s the second in command after all.

“I can take care of the omega,” Phil decides suddenly. “I’ll take Liv, Kate and Kevin with me. We’re best at tracking, we’ll find him in no time. You worry about the hunters.”

Eric takes his time to think the suggestion over. After a few moments he nods.

“Alright,” he agrees. “Now everyone go and rest,” the Alpha glances at Anne who’s nearly sleeping on her feet, leaning against Ethan. “Olivia, Luke, you’re running the perimeter for now,” the betas nod at the command, Noah does not look happy but he never does when his boyfriend gets involved with pack business. “Phil, for god’s sake, get cleaned up,” Eric scrunches up his nose. And Phil totally agrees with him; the coppery scent is making him want to throw up.

The majority of the pack stumbles upstairs to rest after a night of running around with nothing to show for it. Olivia throws Phil a betrayed look as she heads out with Luke and Phil can only sigh. He’ll so have to talk to her later.

Phil heads for the mudroom, grabs a towel from one shelf and someone’s shirt and jeans from another. He leaves the house and strolls to the stream in an unhurried pace.

The whole mate thing went over way better than he expected. That might be because more than half the pack were too tired to drill him about it so he thinks the worst might not be over yet. Whatever. He’ll deal with it when the time comes. Now he just wants to scrub the blood off of himself as fast as possible.

He gets into the stream completely naked and shivers at the cold water. Even in the middle the water line only reaches up to his knees so Phil flops onto his back, submerging. He can feel the smooth pebbles under his fingertips, hear the rushing of the water muffling all other sounds to his sensitive ears, see the treetops and the sunlight peeking through them only slightly blurred as the water is quite clear. His lungs scream for air after a few minutes and he emerges, gulping in oxygen. Red hues paint the water around his torso.

“So he’s already your mate?” A familiar voice wonders.

Phil turns his head to his right. Kate is sitting on the shore, staring expectantly at him.

“Yeah,” Phil mumbles. He’s carding his fingers through the chilly water.

“That was fast,” she comments. The beta looks down, taking a blade of grass and slowly shredding it. “That’s why you didn’t want to tell anyone?”

Phil frowns, runs a hand through his hair, making it stand on end.

“Half of it,” he finally says. “It took me some time to figure out how important he is to me. And, as you said, it happened so fast,” he shrugs.

“But he already knew about the supernatural?” Kate lifts her eyes to him.

Phil nods slowly, meeting her gaze.

“Is he supernatural?”

Another nod.

“Werewolf?”

A shake of the head.

He lets her think, rubbing the clinging blood off his skin. Once he feels clean, Phil stands up and gets back to shore. Nakedness isn’t really a problem around werewolves; clothes don’t pop in and out when they full-shift so Phil’s learned to deal with it. Phil towels off and puts on the clothes: the shirt smells like Eric’s and the jeans are probably Kevin’s. His Alpha’s scent, just under his nose, is comforting and makes Phil’s wolf purr in contentment.

“Oh, shit, Phil,” Kate’s eyes are wide as she watches him sit down next to her on the late summer grass.

Could she have figured it out? Phil’s face stays impassive, though his heart is starting a too fast pace.

“A vampire? Really?” She shakes her head and then bites her lip, looking off into the distance.

The other beta sighs.

“How did you figure it out?” He asks.

“There aren’t that many supernaturals around here,” she shrugs a shoulder. “And when we were looking for Ethan, you and Seth ran into one, and I thought I could scent one when we finally found Ethan. Besides, why else would you want to keep his scent off of you?” Kate gnaws on her lip some more. “Fuck, Phil, are you sure he’s your mate?” She turns to him, worry and concern evident on her face.

Phil’s wolf bristles at the words, insulted.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he rests his arms on his bent knees. “I could barely survive four days without him. My wolf was howling the whole time.”

Kate swears once more and then pats him on the shoulder, rubbing soothing circles.

“How are you thinking of introducing him to the pack?” She wonders after they’ve been sitting in silence for a bit.

Phil shrugs, “I have no idea.”

“You know that Eric won’t like this one bit,” Kate cautions.

The werewolf whines, hanging his head between his knees.

“I know,” he admits sullenly.

“He might make you choose,” the other beta murmurs barely above a whisper.

Phil shakes his head, shutting his eyes tightly.

“I won’t be able to,” he knows he’s whining again but he can’t help it, it’s a problem without a solution and he’s desperate. “Maybe I could persuade him?” Phil looks at Kate with pleading eyes.

She sighs, glances down and then back up at him.

“I don’t know,” she finally says. “You know how hard headed Eric is about these kinds of things.”

Phil nods, turning away from her.

“You could try and introduce your mate to one pack member at a time,” Kate suggests warily. “I mean, if enough of us like him, then Eric might stop and consider allowing you to keep in touch with him.”

Phil perks up immediately, his mood lifting considerably. How did he not think of this sooner? It’s the perfect solution. Well, as perfect as it can be. He looks at the other beta with a smile and sparkling eyes.

“That’s a brilliant idea,” he beams at her. “I’m sure Dan could win over the pack and then Eric will let me be with him.”

Kate’s smile is not as full-blown or optimistic as Phil’s but she nods slowly at his enthusiasm.

“Would you meet him first?” Phil grabs her hand, pleading.

“Why me?” The werewolf lifts her eyebrows in surprise. “You’re closest with Olivia. She should meet him first.”

Phil shakes his head, “You already know, it’s easier this way. I’ll work up to Olivia.”

Kate considers it for a moment but finally bobs her head up and down in agreement. Phil tackles her into a hug, thanking her over and over, and she laughs out loud. Soon it turns into a game, both of them writhing on the ground, trying to pin the other down and gain the upper hand. They roll off of each other, panting heavily, smiles on their faces; bonding with another pack member always lifts a wolf’s spirit.

“This might actually work out,” Phil muses. He’s staring at the dark green canopy above him, sun rays struggling to push through it.

“I hope it will,” Kate squeezes his fingers intertwined with hers and smiles at him. Phil grins back. Maybe he’s finally found a solution to his shitty situation.

“You should try and get Nate on your side,” Kate says. “He’s not that adamant about vampires and Eric’s more likely to listen to him than anyone else.”

Phil nods vigorously, “Yeah, I know, I’ll try to.” Then he worries at his lip. “But I suppose first I should tell Dan that he’s my mate?”

Kate gapes at him and then pushes at his shoulder.

“You haven’t told him?”

Phil shrugs a shoulder.

“Didn’t come up,” he says simply. And he’s not really worried about that. Dan’s a supernatural too, he must’ve felt the bond forming, or at least he must’ve felt _something_ as Phil doubts Dan flirts so blatantly with anyone and everyone. Worst case scenario, if Dan can’t feel the bond, he clearly likes Phil (Phil might be oblivious at times but he’s not a _total_ idiot), and that’s better than nothing.

Phil’s good mood is suddenly ruined by a rush of anxiety. He sits up suddenly, frowning, tasting copper in his mouth once again. Pain shoots through his whole being and he gasps for breath. He can hear his name being called by Kate but it’s muffled and far away. His vision blurs.

And then it’s all gone.

Phil glances around and down to his body. He’s completely unharmed and Kate’s staring at him with huge worried eyes.

“I’m fine,” the werewolf croaks out. It clicks all of a sudden. “Dan,” he murmurs and is standing up in an instant. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he tells Kate, already leaping over the stream and running away.

He doesn’t really pay attention to what she yells back as he’s too busy getting out his phone out of the jeans’ pocket and dialling Dan’s number. There’s no answer and his heart speeds up with worry, his wolf growls in frustration and tries to slip to the surface to take control. Phil holds it back for now.

His phone rings.

“Yes,” he answers with a barely contained snarl.

“Phil,” a female’s voice. Reina. “There was a bit of a complication,” she says quickly. “Hunters were stationed outside the tower, Dan distracted them. But I’m getting this feeling he’s not doing so hot and I’m really busy here, you know, separating wolfsbane from water and all that, so I can’t check in on him –”

“I’m already on my way,” Phil barks out.

“Yeah, great,” the witch sighs in relief. “Call me when you find him? He’s my ride here.”

Phil rolls his eyes.

“Sure,” he replies, and if he’s a bit standoffish then he can blame it all on the situation. “Now can I get back to actually finding him?”

“You don’t like me very much, do you?” Reina muses conversationally.

The werewolf only growls and hangs up, shoving the phone in his pocket and finally letting himself shift to beta form. It’s much better. His senses are sharper and the pull of the mate bond is even stronger so he doesn’t need to go to the tower and search for Dan’s scent to track him down.

As he’s nearing the place Dan’s supposed to be, he starts scenting the hunters. They hadn’t masked their scent and that’s a bit disconcerting because they’ve been very careful about that. But maybe they didn’t think the pack would actually go near the water tower since there’s nothing they can do about the water being poisoned and the security was just a precaution. Maybe. Or maybe this is a trap of some sort. Phil doesn’t dwell on that though, he needs to find Dan.

Dan’s scent separates from the hunters’ over a stream. Phil stops. The hunters clearly went up the stream but Dan’s scent is leading him further, crossing the creek. So either they decided he was hurt enough to die on his own or they lost him. The former possibility seems more likely and makes Phil quicken his pace.

He finds the vampire lying in a shade by a huge oak tree. His shirt is torn so are his jeans, hair tousled and full of leaves and twigs, there are cut marks on his arms, neck, and cheek, those are not healing and Phil frowns. The werewolf drops on his knees by the brunet. The latter is breathing heavily and looks up at him, the whole of his eyeball is consumed by black.

“Fuck,” Phil swears and Dan smirks slightly. “We should so stop dying in front of each other,” he tries to make light of the situation.

The werewolf lifts his hand and trails his fingertips down Dan’s right cheek, just below the cut. Blood seeps onto his fingers, clinging to the skin. Phil looks over Dan’s form.

“Why aren’t you healing?” He asks, concern and worry clear as day in his voice.

“Zero idea,” the vampire replies, blinking his black eyes sluggishly. “They used crossbows,” he says with wonder in his tone. “Can you believe that? Crossbows in this day and age. Why not guns?”

Phil only huffs slightly at Dan’s rambling and tries to think of something. His wolf is whining at the state their mate is in and Phil’s having a difficult time reining it in.

“Right,” Phil murmurs to himself, licking over his suddenly dry lips. “You need to feed in order to heal, yeah?” He addresses the delusional vampire who’s mumbling something about forest scents and golden eyes.

Dan is completely out of it. He doesn’t reply to Phil, only sits up slightly and lifts his hand, dragging his fingers down Phil’s neck, thumb pressing on the wolf’s pulse point.

“You smell so good,” he sighs dreamily, black eyes zeroing in on Phil’s neck. “I want to taste you so bad,” his voice drops an octave, becoming more seductive than Phil’s ever heard him.

Phil turns red instantly at Dan’s words. But he just shakes his head and thrusts his arm close to Dan’s face.

“Here,” he says, offering the wrist. And if his voice trembles slightly, well, no one mentions it.

The vampire’s fangs drop and he clutches onto Phil’s arm with a strong grip. Heart pounding loudly in his ears, Phil watches as Dan runs his nose over the veins on Phil’s forearm, eyes closed as a silent hum reverberates in his throat. Then the brunet sinks his fangs into the soft flesh, tearing it slightly so the blood flow would not be obstructed. Phil gasps as his vein is ripped open, hand clenching into a fist. But the pain lasts only for a few seconds.

A kind of calm settles over the werewolf. He sighs, relaxing. The same delirium the vampire suffered from comes over him as well. On their own volition, his fingers start carding through Dan’s hair. He knows his eyes are burning yellow but he can’t seem to stop them or care about it, really.

Bliss comes next; a sort of ecstasy which makes him want to push Dan on his back and claim him, mark him, finally give into his desires. The vampire hums appreciatively as the thought crosses Phil’s mind and the werewolf thinks briefly that those thoughts aren’t exactly his alone. But that’s discarded as Dan’s pulling away. His eyes are now back to their chocolate colour, sparkling with golden flecks in the daylight. Blood drips down his chin, he swipes his tongue over his bottom lip and Phil can’t resist any longer.

They meet each other halfway, kneeling in the tall grass, lips crashing. Phil can taste the copper but somehow it’s not distracting. Dan’s fingers tangle in his hair and soon Phil’s lying on his back with a very enthusiastic vampire on top of him.

Phil’s fingers glide down Dan’s sides, finding the hem of his shirt and sliding underneath, caressing the chilly skin. The brunet moans lowly into the other’s mouth, hips moving and making Phil groan. His inner wolf demands control and Phil doesn’t hesitate in flipping Dan onto his back, settling over him.

The werewolf growls playfully, biting at the vampire’s bottom lip before licking back into his mouth. He relishes in the obscene sounds his mate is making beneath him, grinding into him more. Phil trails kisses over Dan’s jawline, tasting blood, and onto his neck, licking at the pulse point that’s now beating faster than Phil thought possible for a vampire.

Dan’s fingers are back in his hair, pulling, demanding the wolf’s mouth be back on his own. Phil obliges willingly. They’re kissing again and Phil doesn’t know whether the lewd sounds are coming from him or from Dan.

The delirium is wearing off, Phil can feel it but that doesn’t mean he wants to stop. Now that he’s getting to touch and explore, he’s not willing to give it up. His wolf agrees, urging him to claim their mate. Phil’s fingers trace down Dan’s sides again, reaching his jeans, dipping past the waistband.

“Wait, stop,” Dan whispers, breathless, fingers locking over Phil’s wrists.

Phil stops immediately, pulling away slightly. They stare at each other. Dan’s huffing out laboured breaths as is Phil, pupils blown as are Phil’s, lips spit-slicked and Phil wants to dive down and kiss him again. But Dan shakes his head, pushes Phil off of himself, forcefully, and stands up.

The werewolf gets to his feet slowly, not wanting to spook the clearly distressed vampire. Dan’s carding his fingers through his hair, stepping even further away from Phil.

“Sorry, sorry,” he mumbles, shaking his head, eyes wide in disbelief. “That was because of –,” He waves at Phil’s arm, still covered in blood even though the bite has already healed.

Phil swallows the lump in his throat and tries for casual, “Yeah, I get it, don’t worry.” It comes out kind of strangled, however.

Dan keeps shaking his head and runs his hands down his face. Phil’s glad to see that at least all the wounds have closed.

“I didn’t mean to –,” the brunet doesn’t finish the sentence, he can’t meet Phil’s eyes. “This was _not_ supposed to happen.” He growls out, angry now, pulling at strands of his hair.

“It’s fine, Dan, really,” Phil tries to reassure him, stepping closer. Which, bad idea, apparently, as Dan snarls at him and moves even further away.

Phil’s wolf is whimpering. It doesn’t want their mate distressed, it wants to console, help, get close to him. Phil tells him that their mate does not want that now, that they’re the reason he’s agitated. The wolf doesn’t understand, insisting Phil move closer to Dan.

“I have to go, I have to go,” the vampire mumbles to himself.

“Dan, it’s fine. I lik–” Phil starts saying, desperately now.

“Don’t, please, don’t,” the brunet finally meets his gaze, eyes pleading. “I can’t deal with this right now,” his eyes flicker away again.

Phil groans internally. He needs Dan to see that that was what Phil wanted, that he doesn’t blame Dan or the whole intimacy of drinking blood thing, that he doesn’t think it was forced. That he fucking _wanted_ to do this since _day one_ , for crying out loud.

“But I just –” Phil attempts again, reaching for him.

Dan flinches away. The simple action hurts Phil more than anything.

“No, Phil,” Dan says, tone brooking no argument. His eyes are determined when he lifts them to Phil’s. “Don’t come tonight,” it’s an order, not a request.

Dan turns his back on Phil and jogs away, not looking back even once.

Phil falls to his knees. The summer sun is beating hotly against his skull, birds are chirping happily. The werewolf lifts his head and howls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, thank you very much for the feedback on the last chapter!!! Even if I don't reply, I still read through every comment!!  
> 


	10. Chapter 10

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Reina huffs.

She’s standing by the spiral staircase, leading to the second floor, her hands are on her hips and she’s sporting a rather impressive frown.

“It’s been three days, Dan,” she grumbles, advancing on the sofa where Dan lies staring at the ceiling. “I haven’t said anything because I thought your dumb ass will figure this out but apparently you can’t make appropriate decisions so I’m gonna make them for you,” she drops his phone on his chest, Dan huffs when the device knocks the breath out of him. “Call your werewolf and meet him,” the witch orders, frown deepening.

The vampire scowls at her, tosses the phone to a chair, and turns away from her. He’s in full brooding mode.

“You stubborn stupid dick,” Reina whacks him upside the head and Dan only growls, not looking at her.

The girl sighs after a couple of minutes. She comes around the sofa and sits cross-legged on the floor in front of the brunet. Trying a different tactic, she grabs Dan’s left hand that’s dangling over the edge of the couch and tangles their fingers together.

“What’s so bad about you being in love with him and him feeling the same?” She wonders, voice soft.

“Other than he’s a werewolf and I’m a vampire and his pack would shred me on sight?” Dan quirks a sarcastic eyebrow at her.

“You don’t know that,” the witch rolls her black eyes.

“Yeah, actually, I do,” Dan snarks. “I met one of his pack mates. Granted, he didn’t know that I’m Phil’s –,” he gets stuck on the word, as usual, and just waves vaguely with their linked hands, “but he wasn’t pleased to see a vampire. And as far as I know, Phil’s Alpha is not fond of us either. I don’t want to stand between him and his pack,” the last part is barely a murmur as Dan glances down, pressing his face into the sofa cushion.

Reina chews on her lip, searching for something comforting to say. Dan’s still staring at their linked fingers, swaying their hands slightly.

It’s a situation without a solution, really. He’s with Natalie, Phil’s got his pack. Even if Dan found a way to cut all ties with his coven, there’s zero possibility he’d be accepted by Phil’s Alpha and allowed to be with Phil. Sucks is an understatement for how crappy this whole shindig is.

Dan sighs wearily, playing with Reina’s fingers.

And the way he reacted after Phil kissed him. He cringes at the memory. He was a total dick and Phil didn’t deserve that. Dan ran away instead of dealing with his feelings and fears like a responsible adult he’s pretending to be. He should’ve heard Phil out, should’ve told him how Dan himself feels. But he turned tail and ran as that’s his only tactic of dealing with things that confuse him. And he’s sure he fucked it all up by being a coward.

He says as much to Reina.

“Probably,” the witch nods slowly and Dan throws her a not amused glare. “Oh, come on,” she pushes at his shoulder. “It’s not too late to fix this,” she encourages but her mumbled ‘maybe’ doesn’t exactly lift Dan’s spirit.

Reina extricates herself from his grip and Dan nearly whines at the loss of comforting contact. The witch grabs his discarded phone and returns to her place.

“Call him,” she offers the device to him.

The vampire chews on his bottom lip, nearly biting through it, and then scolds himself internally. He wanted to be in control and here’s his chance. He can turn it around with Phil, he can finally make his own decisions. After eyeing the phone like it’ll chow down on his arm if he so much as extends his hand, Dan finally grabs the device.

Phil hasn’t tried to contact him during the past three days, probably respecting Dan’s request and staying away. It would be comforting for the vampire that the werewolf takes his wishes into consideration if not for the fact that Dan secretly hoped Phil would run after him and bombard his phone with desperate messages. Sure, that’s hypocritical of him, but Dan never pretended to be a better vampire than he actually is.

It rings exactly four times before a breathless Phil answers.

“Yeah,” he breathes hard down the line and it does unspeakable things to Dan. Arousing unspeakable things.

“Hi,” the vampire gulps audibly, the single syllable comes out weak.

“Dan?” Phil questions, confused for some reason. Maybe he didn’t check the caller ID?

“Yeah, um,” Dan stammers. Now that he’s got Phil on the phone he doesn’t seem to know what to say. “It’s me,” he adds. Reina gives him and unimpressed look and shakes her head.

“Seth, for god’s sake, cover your left!” Phil shouts all of a sudden.

And Dan’s instantly aware of the background noise on the other end of the line. There’s growling and snarling and a few colourful curses and a lot of things hitting other things. Are they in a middle of a fight?

“Jesus, are you fighting?” Dan quickly scrambles to sit up, voice raised in worry as his heart kicks it up a notch. Reina lifts an eyebrow.

“Training,” comes Phil’s subdued reply. “We’ll need the practice.”

A loud howl sounds through the phone and Dan scrunches up his nose, pulling the phone away from his ear. Only rustling greets him a moment later when he dares to listen again.

“Damn it, Ethan,” Phil growls. But the phone must be in his hand as it’s quite muffled. “You know that he’s got no training. Who are you showing off for?” His tone is stern and Dan would lie if he said that second-in-command-tough-werewolf-Phil didn’t turn him on at least a little bit.

The other werewolf only snarls at Phil. At least, that’s what Dan assumes, there’s enough of those animal noises going around that he could be wrong who the snarl was directed at.

“Sorry about that,” Phil finally tells Dan, voice softer than talking to the other beta. “Ethan has zero control,” a dissatisfied growl follows Phil’s statement. “How are you?” the werewolf asks, seeming genuinely worried about him.

Guilt and shame pool in Dan’s belly at that. He was a total dick to this wonderful sunshine and he’s worried about Dan’s well-being? Well, fuck all if Dan’s not got the best mate ever. (And yes, he just used that word. Apparently, you can surprise even yourself.)

“I’m fine,” Dan answers quickly.

“If by fine you mean ‘brooding around all night and day and sighing about his love life’,” Reina murmurs quite unhelpfully and Dan pushes at her forehead, making her topple over with a squeak.

“I’m sorry about the other day. About how I acted,” Dan says to Phil. He gets off the sofa and walks to the kitchen, throwing a glare Reina’s way to show that she shouldn’t follow him and eavesdrop.

“Don’t worry about it,” Phil seemingly has a difficulty saying it, he sounds strained. “We can forget about it if you want,” he suggests, even though clearly it’s not what _he_ wants.

“Yeah, no,” the vampire mumbles, biting on his thumbnail. He runs a hand through his hair, huffing. Why the hell is this so complicated?

“I don’t want to,” he finally whispers.

“I – Yo-you don’t?” Phil stammers as if caught off guard.

Then there’s a loud whoosh, someone gasps, Phil curses, and apologies tumble out of someone’s mouth.

“Jesus, Marie,” Phil’s voice again. “Can you _not_ throw your opponents at other people?”

“I’m not the one walking all willy-nilly through a field of fighting werewolves while talking on the phone with my mate, Lester!” A female voice shouts back, irritated. “Take your love confessions to another field!”

“Fine, fine,” Phil grumbles through quite some rustling. “Have I ever told you that being in a pack sucks?” The werewolf faux complains and Dan can imagine the pout he’s sporting. It brings a smile to the vampire’s face.

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice,” Dan hums in agreement. Then he taps his fingers at the kitchen counter, restless. “But about what I said before you got run over by a werewolf,” the brunet prompts.

“Yeah,” Phil exhales slowly. “Maybe that’s more of a face to face conversation? There are some things I need to explain to you.”

Dan nods, uselessly.

“Alright,” he says. “When can you come over?”

“Tomorrow night?” Phil suggests. “We’ve got an omega on the loose, and Eric’s amped up the training,” he trails off. “But I’d manage to escape now if you’d prefer?”

“No, tomorrow’s fine,” Dan replies. He already promised Natalie to go to her place tonight anyway for some super important coven meeting even though they haven’t had those, like, ever. “I’ll see you then.”

“See you,” Phil murmurs back.

And the line does not go dead. Dan can still hear Phil breathing on the other side, the wind rustling the trees, the training of his pack members. Huffing out a laugh, the vampire shakes his head.

“We’re so not doing this,” he tells Phil who also managed a chuckle of his own.

“Not doing what?” He asks, all amused. Dan prefers him this way.

“The whole ‘you hang up, no, you hang up’ thing,” the brunet indulges Phil with a reply.

“Then you should hang up,” the werewolf states.

“Fine, I will,” Dan says resolutely.

He pulls the phone away from his ear, finger hovering over the red button. But he can’t make himself press it. How pathetic is that?

“Oh my god,” he groans at himself. Phil’s laughter can be heard over the line before Dan frowns and disconnects the lines.

“Aren’t you two adorable?” Reina smirks at him, leaning on the fridge.

“Shut it,” Dan scowls at her, jabbing the phone her way. The witch only raises her hands in surrender but the grin doesn’t leave her face.

***

He’s at Natalie’s at about midnight. The moon is already high in the dark abyss of the sky and she is slightly shrouded by a few clouds that threaten rain later on. Street lamps blink ominously as Dan passes them by and he can’t shake the feeling of dread. He never particularly liked visiting his creator or his coven at large but this time it’s something different, something more than simple displeasure.

Jasmine greets him at the door, an evil twinkle in her silver eyes that Dan’s learned to connect with something extremely sadistic. His gut churns in anxiety.

They step into the lounge. Five familiar faces greet him but there are another three he doesn’t recognise, and they’re human. Which, what? How are they not dead yet?

“And here comes the most important person,” Violet grins at him, suddenly at his side, clinging to his arm. The young vampire clenches his jaw so as not to show his displeasure at her closeness.

Natalie pats an open space on the sofa beside her.

“Come here, darling,” she smiles at him sweetly.

Dan approaches her warily, glancing around. Benjamin and Michael are standing in front of the not used fireplace, leaning against it, smirks on their faces too. That doesn’t promise anything good.

The brunet plops down next to his creator, the other two vampires just in front of them, separated from them by a coffee table. A tall lean man of middle age sits in an armchair to the left of Natalie. He’s got the whole attractive older man look going on, what with the salt and pepper hair and light blue eyes, and he smiles like a predator at Dan, looking him up and down. A shiver runs down Dan’s spine.

A guy and a girl stand behind him. They seem to be siblings at the least if not twins. The both of them have the same auburn hair and captivating green eyes. Their attractive features, however, are set in a frown. The man, who seems to be their leader, looks quite relaxed though.

Violet plants herself by Dan’s right, cramming him closer to Natalie. Jasmine takes the last empty armchair, to Violet’s right and in front of the strange man. Those two are also grinning mysteriously and Dan’s getting super bad vibes that are telling him to run while he can. He stays seated.

“What’s going on?” He wonders cautiously, not wanting to overstep any boundaries if there are any but also needing to know what the hell kind of meeting this is.

“Remember our vampire guests from nearly two weeks ago?” Natalie starts.

And, woah, that’s way out of the blue. What do they have to do with this?

“Yeah,” Dan answers even though it comes out more like a question. He frowns.

“Well,” his creator smiles all saccharine, “they helped me get in touch with our friends here,” she motions to the man and his, Dan supposes, guards of some sort. “They’re the hunters that came here three weeks ago,” she declares and Dan’s jaw unhinges.

Here sit the very people who nearly killed Dan three days ago and his creator is smiling at them like they’re the best thing since sliced bread or something. _What the actual hell!?_

“Why –” Dan chokes on the word, the memory of hellish pain is still quite vivid in his mind. “Why are they here?” It comes out as a whisper and the man smirks. Dan glances away from him.

“Oh, can I tell him? Can I?” Jasmine claps her hands, showing more enthusiasm and exuding more glee than he ever thought her capable.

Natalie only nods kindly, the simple movement filled with grace and poise. The dark skinned vampire is grinning as she regards Dan.

“We know about your werewolf friend,” she announces with flourish. All the vampires zero in on his heart that is now trying to match a pace of a live person, a true feat.

“What?” Dan manages. He should’ve run when he had the chance.

“You didn’t think we won’t pick up on the scent of a werewolf on you, did you?” Benjamin mocks him. They all seem to be enjoying this emotional torture that’s going on.

“I-I don’t… What?” He stammers out. Everything is crashing down around him. He feels sick to his stomach.

“A few surveillance rounds and our suspicions were confirmed,” Benjamin shrugs a shoulder. “You should really be more aware of your surroundings.”

They’ve been watching him? They saw Phil visiting him? Shit. Fucking hell. And all the other expletives in the English language. Dan’s fingers are trembling.

“We don’t know how that happened, and we don’t particularly care,” Natalie continues. “We just need information about your werewolf friend and his pack. All you know,” she says, her tone is sweet, motherly, and she’s lightly caressing Dan’s hand.

“We made a pact with Gordon here,” she smiles at the leader of the hunters. “You tell them everything you know and keep feeding information to them and they won’t come after us when they’re done with the wolves,” she turns her pleasant smile onto Dan, patting his arm reassuringly.

Dan is _so_ going to be sick.

“How,” the brunet’s still not over the stammering phase. “How do you know you can trust them?” He asks weakly.

“We only need the wolves,” the hunter, Gordon, answers him instead. “There’s an old beef my family has with the Monroe pack,” he waves his hand about as if that’s not particularly important. “You know, vengeance and all that,” he laughs lightly. Dan is not that amused.

“Just tell them what you know, darling,” Natalie tells him amicably.

The vampire shakes his head. He’d rather die than betray Phil and his pack to the hunters. Dan might have been manipulated into a magical bond with Phil but he actually cares about him now and he guesses that Phil cares about him too. And Dan’s got no real ties to his coven. The decision is simple, really.

“I don’t know anything,” he lies. He could’ve gone on a whole spiel about how he doesn’t even know any werewolf but if, as Benjamin said, they’ve been watching him then that would just be a waste of his breath.

Wait.

Shit. If they’ve been watching him then they also might know about Reina. He so didn’t help her escape Natalie’s clutches only to be dragged back into this.

“Daniel,” Natalie’s fingers dig into his forearm, her voice becomes stern. Dan knows what’s about to come and he gulps audibly. “Answer all of Gordon’s questions,” she orders him in that tone that only a creator can use on their vampire to make them do whatever the creator wants. “Honestly,” she adds, destroying all of Dan’s ideas about answering the questions with whatever nonsense he would’ve thought could fly.

Dan grits his teeth. Natalie used that on him only twice before and both of those times he felt like he feels now: violated, losing control. It’s disgusting and he has to tamper down the oncoming sickness.

The hunter grins at him viciously.

“The werewolf you’ve been meeting,” he begins, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, “what’s his name?”

“Phil,” Dan chokes out against his will. He knows he can’t fight his creator’s orders but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t try.

“And what is his position in the Monroe pack?”

Dan locks his jaw. It doesn’t help one bit as, “Second in command,” slips past his lips.

“You caught yourself a good one,” Violet nudges him and Dan snaps at her, his eyes bleeding black, fangs out. She only laughs and pats his knee.

The hunter interrogates him further about how many of the pack members there are, their names, where the Alpha’s house is, what kind of weaknesses they have. Dan’s just glad Phil didn’t share much with him so he can’t answer half the questions they’re interested in. His relief doesn’t last long, however. After the hunter’s done with his grilling, he turns to Natalie.

“We need the information he couldn’t give us,” Gordon tells her matter-of-factly.

Natalie nods.

“Daniel,” she addresses him again. The young vampire shivers at that tone. “Ask the werewolf the questions you couldn’t answer and report what he says to Gordon.” She turns to the hunter. “You’ll need to give him your number,” she says amicably and the hunter only nods.

Dan’s phone is pried of off his person and Gordon puts in his phone number. As Dan’s taking the device back, his fingers are shaking uncontrollably. The hunter flashes him a grin.

“You’re free to go now,” Natalie dismisses him easily.

The brunet stands up on wobbly legs, wanting nothing more than to escape this hell and tell Phil to fucking get ready for an all-out war thanks to Dan. Fuck. And he thought they will patch their relationship up tomorrow night.

“Daniel, one more thing,” his creator calls to him in a silky tone and he can’t help but turn around. “Do not communicate what happened here or what we talked about in any way, shape or form to anyone,” she grins wickedly. “Understood?”

And there goes that plan. He nods in answer to her. Fuck her and her cunning. She covered all of the bases. If she’d only said not to tell anything to _Phil_ , Dan could’ve told Reina to tell him about all this, he could’ve _written_ _a note_ to Phil, or _texted_ him or something. But now he can’t _communicate_ it to _anyone_ in _any way_.

The pack is so screwed. As is Dan and Phil’s relationship.

***

Reina is lounging on his sofa when Dan gets back, watching something on TV and munching on a pizza that she clearly had delivered because neither of them can cook to save their lives. She glances up at him and freezes, pizza slice halfway to her mouth.

“Alright,” the witch nods and puts the slice back in the box. “Spill,” she turns to him, tucking a leg under herself.

“I can’t,” Dan grits his teeth and flops dramatically into his armchair.

“Why?” Reina lifts an eyebrow, black eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Natalie ordered me not to communicate anything to anyone,” he admits. She said nothing about him spilling the beans about her order, though.

The vampire hangs his head, elbows on his knees, fingers pulling at his hair in frustration.

“What does that have to – oh,” it dawns on her soon enough and Dan would be immensely impressed she knew what he meant as she only saw Natalie do it once to Dan but he’s too fucking pissed off. “Is it bad?” She questions.

Dan wonders for a moment if he can answer that. He can’t tell anyone what they talked about but Natalie didn’t say anything about him not being able to express his _opinion_ on what transpired. Loopholes, gotta love them.

“I think, it’s gonna be fucking awful,” he finally says and sighs, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Do they know I’m here?” She suddenly stiffens, eyes wide.

Dan frowns and then shakes his head.

“No, we didn’t talk about you,” he reassures her and she slumps back in her seat, relieved.

“But you can’t talk about what you actually talked about?” She enquires.

Dan makes a face and nods.

“Right,” Reina clasps her fingers together and stretches her arms in front of herself, making the fingers click. “It’s time for me to work my magic then,” she declares resolutely.

“What are you gonna do?” The vampire quirks an eyebrow.

“I’m going to find a spell that breaks your connection with Natalie,” she smiles and gets to her feet, bounding up to the second floor.

The vampire wishes her luck and for the remainder of the night tries to think of ways to get out of the order to ask Phil stuff about his pack and report back to Gordon. If Phil’s pack is destroyed due to Dan’s intel (even though it’s not voluntary), Dan’s sure Phil will rip his throat out himself.

***

Reina’s not found anything substantial by the evening of the next day and she storms out of the loft saying that Dan’s giving her negative vibes and she can’t concentrate properly. The vampire only lifts an eyebrow at her outburst and doesn’t comment. He knows that Reina is better left alone when in such a mood.

Phil knocks on his door at their standard time – ten p.m. Dan freezes momentarily, debating with himself whether he should even let Phil in. If he doesn’t, then he won’t have to grill him about his pack. But then again, he can’t really stay away from the werewolf for long. So the vampire inhales slowly and marches to the door.

“Hi,” the brunet greets the other, a small smile playing at his lips already.

“Hey,” Phil answers with his own smile and Dan lets him into the loft.

“How was training yesterday?” Dan opts for small talk first but he can already feel the compulsion urging him to ask Gordon’s questions.

“Brutal,” Phil laughs lightly, plopping down on Dan’s still ripped open sofa. “A lot of broken bones and bite marks. But everyone’s healed now.”

“How were the omega searches?” The vampire seats himself on the edge of the couch, tangling and untangling his fingers.

“Haven’t found him yet. We’re thinking he’s out of our territory again,” Phil turns to him, sitting sideways, one leg tucked under him. “Are you okay?” He asks, worried, eyeing Dan’s fidgeting hands.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Dan cracks a smile but Phil’s clearly not convinced.

“Look,” the werewolf sighs. “If you changed your mind, just tell me. I was serious when I said that we can forget about what happened.”

“It’s not that, really,” the brunet reassures. “Coven problems. It doesn’t matter,” he dismisses with a wave of his hand.

Phil lifts an eyebrow as if to ask him if he’s sure. Dan ignores it and goes straight into the other problem.

“I’m sorry about acting the way I did after, you know,” he gestures vaguely having their make-out session in mind but not really wanting to say the words out loud. He doesn’t meet Phil’s eyes. “I should’ve warned you about the frenzy that comes with drinking blood straight from the vein beforehand. That’s totally my fault,” he ruffles his hair.

“You regret it?” Phil’s voice is soft. “The kiss, I mean.”

“I-” Dan exhales slowly. “Yeah, no, I don’t know,” he groans at himself and runs a hand down his face.

“Well, I don’t,” the werewolf admits. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, Dan. Sure, it was not ideal as we both weren’t really in control of ourselves but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want it. The truth is that –” he stops suddenly and grabs Dan’s hand, intertwining their fingers. The heat of the werewolf is scorching Dan’s ice cold skin but he wouldn’t let go for the world. “Can you, please, look at me? I’m not gonna bite you,” he huffs a short, kind of strained, laugh.

Dan meets his eyes. He always was a sucker for blue eyes but Phil’s are beyond gorgeous. He feels himself melting instantly.

“The truth is that you’re my mate,” a corner of Phil’s lips curves into a soft intimate smile. “Basically, it means that I really like you,” the smile turns into a grin now.

Phil starts rubbing circles onto Dan’s chilly skin with his thumb, calming him.

“I feel this connection to you that’s difficult to explain,” he continues, eyes dropping for a second to Dan’s hand. “It’s a werewolf thing,” he shrugs a shoulder. “The mate bond doesn’t necessarily have to be a romantic or sexual thing. It’s just that I want you to be happy. Whether that includes me or not is your choice.”

Dan swallows and bites on his lip.

“I-I lied to you,” the vampire whispers, lowering his gaze.

“About what?” Phil asks cautiously but he’s not angry and Dan’s glad about that.

“The trip I took,” he says. “It wasn’t for Natalie. I saw an emissary of a werewolf pack. I wanted to learn more about this bond because I can feel it too.”

Phil stills. Dan chances a glance at him but the werewolf is simply frowning in confusion.

“Why didn’t you say anything then?” He wonders.

“Why didn’t _you_?” Dan shoots right back.

“Touché,” Phil smirks. “So what did you learn?”

 Dan shrugs.

“That it formed too fast because I drank your blood on day one,” he replies. “That I wouldn’t feel like it was forced on me if it had formed naturally.”

Phil drops his hand at that.

“You feel like it’s forced?” He looks – not quite horrified but something close to that. Like he’s the one who’s forcing this on Dan and is disgusted with himself.

“I-I did,” Dan admits, running a hand through his hair. “But I’m starting to think that I would have cared about you even without the bond. That it just amped things up and made them happen faster.”

Phil regards him for a few seconds, considering his words. Then he rubs at his neck and fixes his fringe.

“The question is, Dan, if you’re merely accepting the bond or do you actually want it?” The werewolf says. The ‘do you actually want _me_?’ is hanging in the air.

Dan’s not sure how to answer that. He never thought about it this way. He figured accepting the bond and wanting it was the same thing. Clearly, it’s not. Does he want it? He wants Phil, that’s for sure. Dan’s never felt happier when simply being with him, the werewolf brought back joy into Dan’s miserable life, made him actually _feel_ again.

But the bond is tricky. It makes him feel like he’s got no choice, like when he’s with Natalie. And that’s a disgusting thought if he ever had one. If it were only Phil without the whole bond shindig, Dan wouldn’t even hesitate. But now… Now he doesn’t know how he feels about being manipulated into a relationship by the universe itself.

“I understand if you need time to think about this,” Phil says, pats Dan’s knee and stands up.

“No, wait,” the brunet catches his arm and makes him sit back down. He sighs and cards through his hair. “Can we, like, start a clean slate?” He wonders. “Just go slow and see what happens? Like, we actually just started dating?” He offers a shy smile. “No big proclamations about a complicated and soul binding mate bond.”

Phil thinks about it for a few seconds and his answering smile is cautious at best if not a bit forced.

“Yeah, okay,” he nods slowly. “I can do that.”

And shit. Now Dan’s feeling like the manipulating one. Of course, Phil would agree with anything Dan suggests because he’s a werewolf who just wants his mate to be happy. This free agency shit is difficult.

“You can or you want to?” The vampire questions.

Phil laughs at that and shakes his head.

“You’re really big on free choices, aren’t you?” He muses.

Dan just shrugs a shoulder.

“Never had much of those myself,” he glances down, chewing on his lip and feeling awkward all of a sudden.

“We’ll do it your way then,” Phil promises him, taking his hand again. “We’ll go slow,” he smiles warmly and Dan sighs, relieved. He nods, offering back a small smile.

“You haven’t fed in a while,” Phil remarks, his head tilts slightly to the side, reminding Dan of a puppy, as he considers Dan’s appearance. “I’ll get you a mug,” he decides, standing up and going to rummage in Dan’s kitchen.

So that’s over with, apparently. Dan doesn’t know if he’s relieved that this whole bond thing has finally been kind of dealt with or scared that now feelings are out in the open and there’s a very real possibility he can get burned. If only he had more experience with relationships. And not manipulative/abusive ones.

“Where’s Reina?” Phil gets back to the sofa shortly, handing Dan a cup filled with the werewolf’s blood.

“No idea,” Dan shrugs, gladly accepting the drink. He sips at it and can’t help the moan slipping past his lips. What he also can’t help is notice how Phil’s eyes briefly flash yellow at the sound before he turns away, cheeks flushed.

“She got all mad at me and stormed off,” Dan explains further, choosing to ignore the wolf’s reaction. However, he doesn’t miss the way Phil’s lips quirk upwards at the words. He groans. “You don’t really like her, do you?” Dan raises an eyebrow.

“Her scent is _all_ over you,” the werewolf grumbles, scrunching up his nose.

“Would you feel better if you could scent mark me?” Dan wonders, taking another sip. It’s heavenly.

Phil reddens slightly at that. His glance falls to his hands, fingers fidgeting.

“I know you don’t really like it,” the werewolf mutters.

“It’s not that,” Dan shakes his head. “I don’t like what’s _associated_ with it,” he explains. “I don’t like the idea of _belonging_ to someone. I know it’s big with werewolves, the whole ‘mine’ thing. But I’d much rather be my own person. I already have people who think they can do anything they want with me,” he scowls at the cup of blood. Just remembering Natalie’s manipulations from yesterday make Dan feel violated all over.

“The mate bond is not about control if you’re worried about that,” Phil’s fingers find their way to Dan’s thigh, rubbing soothingly. “Yes, it’s about belonging and claiming but I’d never think about controlling you. It’s more to show the other wolves to not try anything with you. And later, when you meet the pack, it’s to show that you’re with us. The belonging is not about possession, it’s to show that you’re protected by the pack, by me.”

“So now I’m meeting the pack?” Dan raises his eyebrows, deciding to drop the subject for now as he doesn’t want to start an argument when everything seems to be going fairly well. He totally feels where Phil is coming from but he still doesn’t really like it.

Phil grins at that, mood instantly shifting to nearly ecstatic. Dan thinks he might vibrate out of his seat with happiness.

“Kate suggested a brilliant idea,” the werewolf says. “We’re gonna try and introduce you to one pack member at a time, get them used to you, and then we’ll persuade Eric that you’re completely fit to be my mate.”

Dan hums while sipping the last of the blood.

“Great plan if not a bit flawed,” he offers. “What if your pack members totally hate me and try to rip me in half or something?”

Phil rolls his eyes.

“That won’t happen,” he says completely sure of himself. “Kate’s already on our side,” he makes a face. “Well, kind of. And I’m sure we’ll be able to persuade the others.” He beams so brightly that Dan doesn’t want to ruin it for him so he just makes a noncommittal sound and heads to the kitchen to rinse the mug.

“But your Alpha will be the real challenge,” Dan says, glancing at Phil who’s standing beside him, leaning against a counter.

“Yeah,” the werewolf chews on his lip. The vampire suddenly can focus only on the other’s mouth.  He gets an insane urge to kiss those lips. And, technically, he could since they’re kind-of-sort-of-dating-maybe? “Eric really hates vampires.”

“Say it as it is why don’t you,” Dan mumbles, raising an eyebrow at Phil’s words and pushing the other thoughts away. There’ll be time for that in the future. Hopefully.

“But he hasn’t met you,” Phil bats his eyelashes. “I’m sure he’ll make an exception for you. Especially if Nathan likes you too.”

“Nathan?” Dan can practically feel the itch of compulsion as the keep discussing Phil’s pack. “He’s your Alpha’s mate, right?”

“Yep,” Phil pops the p. “He used to be a mercenary. Helping packs, hunters, covens, what have you, deal with dangerous supes. He’s as unbiased as they come. Kind of,” Phil grimaces slightly.

The questions hum in Dan’s mind in a loud cacophony. He tries to fight it, he really does as proved by his trembling hands but the words just come out of his mouth unbidden.

“And are the other pack members trained like him?” _What is their experience in fighting? What are their weaknesses?_ Gordon’s voice sounds in his head and Dan tries to ignore it.

“Not really,” Phil shrugs completely unaware that Dan will be forced to report this information to the hunters who, based on Dan’s intel, will be able to destroy Phil’s pack. Fuck. “Are you okay?” Phil’s worried all of a sudden. Maybe because Dan’s gripping the counter like his life depends on it and is mumbling nonsense under his breath.

“Yeah, yeah,” the vampire nods a few times.

Phil’s fingers rub at the nape of Dan’s neck and it’s grounding in a way Dan’s never experienced. It’s like he can think clearer with the contact.

“I have to ask you a few questions,” Dan forces out. It’s not exactly against the rules to say that and Dan just loves the greys of creator commands. “Lie to me, okay? Say anything that comes to mind instead of the truth.”

Dan’s orders are to ask Phil the questions and report the answers. It doesn’t matter much whether he tells the truth or lies, as long as Dan gets answers his orders will be fulfilled. There’s also an added bonus of Gordon getting false information which Dan is more than happy with.

Phil frowns, retracting his hand but Dan grabs onto his fingers, needing the contact to keep himself at least somewhat sane.

“What’s going on?” The werewolf asks and thankfully doesn’t retract his hand from Dan’s.

“Just do this for me, okay?” Dan knows he sounds quite desperate but he really doesn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of ten werewolves. And quite possibly three humans as he doesn’t think the hunters will leave werewolf mates alive.

“Yeah, okay,” Phil nods.

The werewolf frowns through the whole questioning line and grows increasingly suspicious but as far as Dan can tell, he’s totally making things up when replying. Phil asks Dan why he’s suddenly so interested in when the pack is doing perimeter checks and what are their weak points when fighting but Dan _can’t fucking tell the truth_. So he just shakes his head and goes onto the next question on the list.

When the questions end, the compulsion doesn’t quite wear off as Dan’s not yet reported Phil’s answers to Gordon but the vampire’s head is feeling less clustered without the incessant thoughts about Phil’s pack so he counts it as a win. Phil, however, doesn’t look as pleased as Dan is with himself.

“What was that about?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Can’t tell, sorry,” Dan bites his lip.

“Why?” Now the eyebrows are once again scrunched up in a frown.

And Dan realises he’s actually free to talk about the whole compulsion thing in general terms even though he can’t tell the reason behind the questions themselves. He beams.

“Natalie’s orders,” he says. “A creator can make their vampire do whatever using compulsion. It doesn’t work on humans, as I told you before, but it works on vampires the creator has made. Kind of an Alpha thing, I think,” Dan stares at Phil, willing him to understand.

“And she ordered you to ask me all these questions? But you can’t tell why,” Phil’s puzzled even further. “That’s the manipulations you talked about,” the werewolf growls lowly. “Does she do that often?”

“No, no,” Dan shakes his head. He’s truly appreciating the care Phil’s showing but they’re so close to Phil getting the problem Dan’s facing. “That’s not important right now. Just think about the questions, Phil. Why would a vampire coven need such information?” Dan’s so glad Natalie didn’t think to forbid him to discuss the matter in general terms.

Phil regards him warily.

“How does she know about me in the first place? Have you told her about me, about my pack?” He bristles.

Shit, this is so going downhill.

“I can’t say,” Dan groans, fingers tangling in his own hair and he tugs at the strands. “Do you really think I’d do something like that? Betray your trust?”

Granted, Dan’s already done that with the whole considering breaking their bond thingy without informing Phil but that’s beside the point. Plus Phil doesn’t know about it. Yet.

“The questions, Phil,” the vampire urges. “Think, please,” he grabs onto the werewolf’s hand again, staring straight into his eyes, mentally pleading him to figure this out.

“They’re all strategic questions,” it comes out like a question so Dan nods vigorously. “Is your coven planning to attack us?” He raises an eyebrow. And, yeah, that’s a ridiculous idea.

“Not really,” Dan grimaces. They didn’t talk about this so the compulsion doesn’t extend to this string of conversation.

“Then I don’t get it,” Phil huffs, annoyed.

“You basically said it,” the vampire groans, raising his eyes to the ceiling as if asking for strength from the heavens. “The questions were strategic, about your pack. Who could benefit from that?”

“Hunters?” Phil wonders uncertainly after a few beats.

Dan jumps up and down, maybe a bit too excited over Phil guessing correctly. He plants a quick kiss to Phil’s lips, stunning the werewolf for a second, then beams at him.

“Yes, yes,” the brunet bobs his head up and down several times to reiterate his point.

Phil looks quite amused at Dan’s antics but then frowns again.

“How do hunters connect with your coven?” He wonders.

“I can’t say,” Dan repeats for the third time but it doesn’t matter, what matters is that Phil _knows_ and he won’t blame Dan for the information leak. Hopefully.

“Okay,” Phil draws the word out, glancing away, trying to piece this together. “So hunters somehow got your creator to order you into gathering info from me about my pack?”

Dan nods for the umpteenth time, beaming at his mate. And, hell, he’ll use that word if he wants to. They just had a super important breakthrough, Dan can allow himself a moment of weakness for affection.

“That’s,” Phil trails off, ruffling his fringe. “I have to tell my Alpha that the hunters are stepping up their game,” he scrunches up his nose. “That means there’s no time to ease you into the pack. I have to introduce you to them tonight.”

And that’s totally not what Dan wanted to hear, like, ever.

“Your Alpha will kill me on sight,” Dan sighs.

“He won’t,” the beta says but it doesn’t sound even a little bit convincing. Dan raises an eyebrow at that. “Yeah, okay,” Phil gives up. “He might try to but I won’t let him.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but an Alpha werewolf is like ten times stronger than a beta. How exactly won’t you let him kill me?” Yeah, optimism is not Dan’s strongest point.

“It won’t come to that,” Phil rolls his eyes. “Besides, he’s grateful to you and Reina for getting rid of wolfsbane from the water supply. You’re already on his good side,” he grins.

“I don’t think that opinion will hold when he sees me,” Dan grimaces. He’d very much rather not be brutally murdered by an Alpha werewolf tonight. Or any other night, for that matter. Sure, it would get him out of Natalie’s grubby hands but Dan’s not keen on using such drastic measures.

“It’ll be fine,” Phil waves his hand, clearly trying to reassure himself as much as Dan. He fishes his phone out of his pocket, typing on it with great concentration. “There,” he lifts the device up by its corner and it nearly slips past his fingers, threatening to plunge to the floor and shatter the screen into a spider web of sharp lines, but the werewolf somehow manages to keep it in his hand. Dan smirks. “Emergency pack meeting convened.” And there goes Dan’s smile.

“I’m so killing you if your Alpha kills me,” the vampire frowns, jabbing a finger into Phil’s chest. The latter only rolls his eyes.

Dan sighs internally. It’ll be a long night.


	11. Chapter 11

Phil’s buzzing with nerves. And not the good kind.

Theoretically, he should be over the moon (no pun intended) that his mate is about to meet his pack. But Phil’s quite sure that it will not go well. The reassurances he offered to Dan were vague at best, he doesn’t really believe them himself, and he has no idea if he’ll be able to fight his Alpha if it comes to it.

Phil grimaces, following Dan down the steps and into the not-so-fresh city air. As a beta he inherently aims to please and follow his Alpha’s commands and can’t really go against him, unless it is to challenge him for the leadership position, but he also has an instinct to protect his mate from harm. He has no idea which of the two instincts will take over when it all, undoubtedly, goes to shit.

The werewolf sighs as his feet hit the pavement. He guides Dan with a hand on the small of the brunet’s back in the direction of Phil’s car and they walk in companionable silence. Phil can feel the nerves rolling off of Dan too. He’s clearly not thrilled to be chewed out by a pack of wolves. Phil prays to any deity that’s listening that it wouldn’t come to that.

“Maybe you could go alone,” Dan muses, suddenly stopping in his tracks, running a hand through his hair. It looks like a dishevelled mess already but Phil finds it adorable.

“You’re ditching me?” Phil crosses his arms.

“Not ditching per se,” the vampire shifts uncomfortably, eyes darting away.

“You’re coming,” Phil decides resolutely, grabbing Dan’s upper arm and dragging the brunet with him. “Besides, you might remember something from previous conversations, maybe there’s something you can actually tell us.”

Dan groans but lets himself be pulled along. The contact is calming to Phil so he doesn’t let go even if he knows that Dan won’t just up and run away. While still walking, Phil fishes his phone out of his pocket and quickly finds the necessary contact. Such a situation requires allies. Not that he thinks he’ll get many of those from his pack.

“Yeah,” Nathan answers after a couple of rings.

“I need your help,” Phil says without preamble. Dan lifts an eyebrow at him but doesn’t question. “Are you alone?” He asks. It’s a code they use when they need to talk without another werewolf overhearing but not wanting to say it in so many words. Never mind that everyone _knows_ the code, though.

“Just a sec,” the human replies and Phil can hear him walking. “Yeah, okay, spill,” he finally says after a door clicks shut.

“So I’m bringing my mate around to introduce him to the pack and share some important information,” Phil says and doesn’t miss how Dan cringes at the m word. Not exactly the reaction Phil wishes the vampire had but he doesn’t blame the brunet; it’s not like Dan had years to grow accustomed to the concept of mates.

“I gathered as much from your text,” Nate interjects.

They’re by Phil’s car now and the werewolf leans on the bumper, letting his hand slide down Dan’s arm and tangles their fingers. Dan sends him a small smile.

“The thing is that I don’t think Eric will like him much,” Phil bites his lip, glancing down at their intertwined fingers.

“And why might that be?” Nathan enquires suspiciously.

“Dan, well, he’s a vampire,” the werewolf admits. “And you know how Eric feels about vampires.”

“Shit, Phil,” Nathan groans. “Eric’s gonna tear him apart.”

Dan winces at the words spoken with near hundred per cent certainty. Phil squeezes his fingers, silently telling the vampire that Phil’s not going to let anything happen to him. Well, at least he’ll _try_ not to let anything happen to Dan.

“Um, yeah,” Phil mumbles in answer. “I’d rather he didn’t,” he sighs. “He listens to you. Most of the time,” the beta grimaces. “I need your help on this.”

“You’ll need a miracle,” the human snorts and Dan gives Phil an aggravated look at the words. “But I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks,” Phil relaxes a bit more, having the Alpha’s mate on his side releases some tension from his muscles.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Nathan warns. “You know that if it comes to it, I’ll do everything to keep _my_ mate alive. So your vampire better not have any ideas.”

Dan rolls his eyes and Phil agrees with him on this one.

“No one’s getting any ideas,” Phil assures him. “We just want to talk.”

“Alright, see you in a bit then,” Nate says. “This is gonna be interesting,” he mumbles to himself in a tone Phil doesn’t find very reassuring so the werewolf chooses to ignore the comment.

Phil says his goodbyes and the line disconnects, leaving him only with Dan under a yellow pool of a lamp post light. Shadows fall enticingly onto his mate’s face, making his lips the most prominent feature, and if Phil spaces out a bit, staring at said lips and thinking of kissing them, well, then no one can blame him.

“Are we going or what?” A tentative smile graces those gorgeous lips and Phil can’t help himself. He leans forward, pressing a chaste kiss to Dan’s mouth. It’s just a simple peck, just because Phil finally _can_.

“Yeah, let’s go,” the werewolf nods and is extremely satisfied to see a dreamy look on the vampire’s face. His wolf rumbles in approval.

Once they’re in the car, Phil reaches between them to the backseat. There’s an array of stray clothes there because Phil’s a werewolf who can full shift and he had one too many instances running around naked and risking being charged with public indecency. He deftly grabs a random shirt and drops it in Dan’s lap. The brunet raises the garment and a questioning eyebrow.

“What did we _just_ talk about?” Dan sighs.

Phil’s wolf whines at their mate’s refusal to be scent-marked, to accept an expression of the wolf’s affection.

“Believe me, it’s better if you smell like me from the get-go,” Phil informs him. “It won't aggravate the pack as much.”

The vampire grumbles some gibberish under his breath but acquiesces and changes his own shirt for Phil’s. Now _that_ Phil’s wolf really likes. The werewolf smirks to himself as he starts the engine.

***

The motion detectors on the lights above the porch bring them to life. They blare onto the dark yard, illuminating everything in a sharp white. The cover of night was more preferable, now they just feel too exposed.

Phil parks in the only available space in front of his Alpha’s house. There are another four cars and a couple of bikes already there, meaning that his whole pack is inside the house. The werewolf glances at his mate. Dan’s biting on a thumbnail, staring at the house warily, one of his knees keeps bouncing up and down.

“It’s gonna be fine,” the beta tries for a reassuring smile, patting the restless knee. Dan only snorts.

“Let’s get this over with,” he exhales loudly and reaches for the door handle.

“Wait,” Phil catches his left arm and Dan turns to him, a questioning look on his face.

The werewolf reaches up to the vampire’s neck, tugging him forward minutely; only a suggestion, not a demand. Smirking slightly, the brunet leans closer to the wolf. Their lips lock for a few seconds, Phil’s wolf growling for more but he tells it to shut up and wait. As they’re pulling back, Phil skims his fingers over Dan’s cheek, his jawline, down his neck, rubbing his thumb on the pulse point there.

“Satisfied?” Dan quirks an eyebrow at him; not exactly irritated, Phil’s glad to notice, more like slightly exasperated but still fond.

“It’ll have to do,” Phil sighs, leaning away. He’d like his scent on Dan to be more dominant, without any trace of that witch he’s so fond of, but Phil will take what he can get.

They step out of the car simultaneously, signalling to Phil’s pack that they’re ready to meet them. The Alpha appears on the porch first and Phil doesn’t even have time to say ‘hi, this is Dan’ when all hell breaks loose.

Taking one whiff of the air outside, Eric growls, eyes glinting red in the blaring lamp light, claws extending, beta shift fully in place. Some of the other wolves react according to their Alpha, shifting instantly. Ethan and Kevin jump over the porch railing, dropping to the ground and growling. There are a few surprised ‘whats’, mostly from humans. And then there are comments, all coming at the same time.

“Really, Lester? A vampire?” That one comes from Anne. Phil doesn’t need to look at her to know she’s got her lips pursed in an unimpressed grimace.

“The fuck, Phil?” This one is Olivia’s. At least she sounds more surprised than angry. For the moment.

“Hey, I know him,” that’s Seth. And Phil wants to roll his eyes at that.

“Well, at least he’s cute,” Kate sighs, adding to the on-going appraisal.

“Fucking hell,” and that’s Nathan, probably commenting on the situation in general.

Only a few seconds have passed, Dan’s still just closing the passenger door, but Phil already can see this turning out badly even if the rest of the werewolves are not getting involved. Before Phil can jump over the hood and get to Dan, his Alpha has the vampire on said hood, holding him by his throat, fangs in the vampire’s face as the Alpha werewolf snarls menacingly. Eric’s claws dig into Dan’s skin, piercing it and drawing blood.

“Jesus Christ,” Dan manages to gasp, eyes wide, arms flailing.

Phil reacts on instinct to someone trying to harm his mate, never mind that it’s his own Alpha. He plants a hand on the hood, lifting his weight on it and kicking Eric square in the jaw. The Alpha stumbles back, knocked into a car parked beside Phil’s, and the beta lands on the hood, crouching next to his mate, growling in beta shift.

For a second there’s a standstill when they only snarl at each other. The other wolves clearly don’t know what to do and Phil himself doesn’t think he’d be able to fight his Alpha if it actually came to it. Eric tilts his neck to the side, joints cracking loudly, and Phil knows what he’s about to do. The beta clenches his jaw, awaiting the full shift and considering if he’s ready to do the same but then his view of the Alpha is somewhat obscured by another person.

“Calm the fuck down,” Nathan slaps his mate across the chest, completely ignoring the fangs and red eyes and the fact that Eric could dismember him with ease, and turns to Phil, scowling at the beta. “And you, get off the fucking car.”

Phil obliges instantly, his wolf whining slightly at being reprimanded by the Alpha’s mate. The werewolf shifts back and situates himself between his own mate and the Alpha’s.

“The lot of you, get inside,” the curly haired human addresses the rest of the pack.

Ethan seems adamant to obey, and only the humans and Marie with Seth and Olivia actually follow Nathan’s order. The others turn to their Alpha. Eric nods minutely, eyes leaving Dan for only half a second. Nathan exhales slowly, glaring at his mate when Eric releases a snarl since Dan moved closer to Phil.

“Dan, right?” Nate asks, glancing over Phil’s shoulder.

The beta is too focused on watching every twitch of his Alpha to check on his mate but he supposes Dan nodded.

“I’m Nathan,” the Alpha’s mate introduces. “The big bad behind me is Eric. Usually he communicates with words,” he smirks as another snarl erupts from the werewolf. “Now, shall we go inside and talk like civilised,” he shoots a look at his mate, “people?”

“I’m not letting the bloodsucker into my home,” Eric lisps through his fangs. Phil growls at the insult.

“How about you let your beta’s _mate_ into _our_ home?” Nathan turns to him, jaw set, all the muscles tense.

“We can talk outside, that’s fine with me,” Dan rambles behind Phil, voice trembling slightly. Having an Alpha werewolf growl in your face will do that to a person.

Said Alpha glares at the vampire for only having opened his mouth and Phil so doesn’t see this going well in any way, shape or form.

“No,” Nathan smirks maliciously. “I think our Alpha needs to learn some hospitality.” He then waves towards the house. “Dan, please,” he invites.

Phil hears Dan swallowing down the nerves and the vampire moves slowly away from the beta, his fingers brushing along the length of Phil’s shoulders. Nathan claps Dan on the back, walking with him towards the house. Phil’s watching all this with only the corner of his eye as the majority of his attention is still on Eric.

“You,” the Alpha snarls at his second in command, a position Phil’s sure he already lost, and slams him against the car, hand in a bruising grip on Phil’s shoulder.

“Phil,” the werewolf hears his mate’s worried voice but doesn’t tear his gaze away from the scowling Alpha and his red eyes.

“They’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Nathan reassures the vampire in an unconcerned tone. Phil’s not that sure that he’ll be fine as Eric looks quite murderous.

“You brought a vampire into my territory,” Eric slams him again, to reiterate his point, Phil supposes.

The beta wants to snark back that the vampires have already been in their territory and no one’s noticed that but keeps his mouth shut. He really doesn’t want to fight with his Alpha but Eric’s being an unreasonable dick and Phil has to tamp down the urge to say something stupid.

“And you _mated_ with him?” He asks, disbelief lacing his tone. “The hell is wrong with you?”

They haven’t actually _mated_ as such but Phil is _so_ not telling his Alpha that. Besides, the second question – insult – jumps to his attention more.

“With me?” The beta snarls. There goes his self-control. “What’s wrong with _you_? You know what a mate means to us and you know we can’t choose one. So be an adult about it and accept it.”

He shrugs his Alpha off of himself. His inner wolf is beyond confused with what is happening and wants to roll over and show his submission to their Alpha, to be back on his good side. Phil tells it to shut it and stop being an idiot. The wolf seems to have neither of those concepts.

Phil heads to the house, listening closely to what is happening inside. He can’t hear Dan’s heartbeat, or Nathan’s for that matter, which means they’re in the office, the only soundproofed room in the whole house. The rest of the pack are either in the lounge or in the kitchen, all of them restless.

“That was, like, the worst mate introduction in the history of ever,” Marie’s leaning on the kitchen doorframe, the first one he sees in the house, and she’s smirking.

“Glad you enjoyed it,” Phil huffs, tone emotionless.

“You better get rid of that leech, Lester,” Ethan appears in the entryway to the lounge, his sneer doesn’t really affect Phil as he’s seen it so many times. Ethan has anger issues that he expresses on a daily basis.

And now Phil can see the division between the pack. The ones that support (or at least don’t mind) Phil’s relationship with a vampire are in the kitchen. These include Kate and Marie. Yeah, not really great odds.

The rest of the pack are in the lounge and are clearly against Dan being here. Well, to varying degrees. Seth, Kevin and Luke are actively scowling behind Ethan while Anne, Olivia, and the humans sit on the sofas, not really getting involved.

Phil doesn’t dignify Ethan’s comment with an answer and marches straight for the office, knowing his Alpha is close behind. Upon opening the door, Phil sees Dan, sitting in an armchair, a glass of Nate’s special liquor, concocted specially for supernaturals so they’d be able to get drunk, in his hand. Nathan himself seems quite relaxed, sitting in a chair opposite to the vampire’s. Both the wolves go to their mates, standing beside them, glaring at each other. At least Eric has shifted back but the glare he directs Dan’s way still makes the vampire hunch over, avoiding the Alpha’s eyes.

“I suppose, sitting down is out of the question,” Nathan waves a hand to the empty sofa. No one so much as glances at him. He sighs, rolling his green eyes. “So, Dan’s been telling me about how you two met,” the Alpha’s mate directs his attention to Phil. “He says he saved your ass from dying,” Nate quirks an eyebrow.

“He did,” Phil agrees, nodding tersely. All his muscles are still tense, senses on alert, Eric’s the same way.

“That’s informative,” Nathan comments.

Dan gulps more of the drink down, not even getting involved.

“Enough chit chat,” Eric says, tone hostile. His eyes skim over Dan’s form and then turn to Phil. “You said he,” the Alpha indicates Dan, “has information about the hunters.” At Phil’s nod, Eric is back to scowling at Dan, it seems to be physically painful for him to address the vampire directly. “Talk,” the one word is laced with so much hate, and Phil’s in total shock at seeing his Alpha behaving like this. This is not the man who so graciously accepted a stray and broken omega, that Phil was years ago, into his pack and took care of him.

“It’s more complicated than that,” Dan mumbles, clearing his throat and working up the nerve to glance at Eric. “I’m under orders from my creator not to tell anything to anyone but Phil guessed so maybe he can explain?” The brunet looks up to the werewolf in question.

“The hunters know about my association with Dan,” Phil begins, tone clipped. “They got his creator to use compulsion on him so he would keep the hunters informed about us.”

“And how do you know that if he’s ordered not to say anything?” A mocking and biting smirk finds its way to Eric’s lips. Phil clenches his jaw.

“It’s not important,” the beta grits out.

“Oh, but it is,” Eric answers. “How do you know he wasn’t under orders from his creator the whole time? How do you know this is not some play of his to get our pack killed?” He spits out.

Nathan’s fingers wrap firmly around Eric’s wrist, making the trembling of the Alpha’s frame subside. He clearly was about to lose control and Phil dreads to think what would happen if he did. They’re having a hard time communicating as it is.

“Because I trust him,” Phil replies simply. “You have a mate, you know how it is.”

“My mate is not a manipulating evil murderer,” Eric snaps, stepping forward.

Nathan sighs and rubs a hand over his eyes. Dan’s still sitting quiet as a church mouse, clutching at the glass in his hands like a lifeline and bouncing his knee minutely.

“Your mate killed supes for a living!” Phil exclaims, exasperated, throwing his arms in the air. “Evil ones, yeah, but he’s still a killer – no offence, Nate,” the beta glances briefly at the curly haired brunet who only shrugs nonchalant, “like the rest of us.” Phil finishes, loathe to say it but it’s true; they all had to kill to survive at some point.

“Eric, come on,” Nate tugs at his mate’s shirt, urging him to step back. “No one’s demanding you accept Dan into our pack with wide open arms. They’ve got info, just hear them out.”

Eric hesitates for a moment but steps back. His hand instantly finds its way to the nape of Nathan’s neck, rubbing circles there. It’s a werewolf thing, helps to ground and calm yourself, Phil’s done it himself plenty of times with other pack mates.

“Now,” Nate smiles. “What have you got for us?”

***

It’s an hour later and Dan’s told Eric and Nathan everything he could remember and was allowed to. There’s not _that_ much of information but clearly a lot more than they had, which was nothing. Now at least they know where the hunters reside and a few bits and pieces about their routine, thanks to Dan’s covens’ stalking prowess.

They also discussed (well, Eric’s growling and snarky remarks were not discussing exactly but Phil didn’t expect more from him) Dan’s coven. The vampire told them as much as he could about how the creator’s manipulations work and what kind of training the vampires in his coven have and whether they’re likely to join the impending final showdown. Dan was unsurprisingly compliant in giving them all the necessary information; Phil knows how much the brunet dislikes being with the coven in the first place.

After that, it’s time for Dan to officially meet the pack at large. Eric grumbles about that but Nathan shoots him a look and the Alpha minimises his dissatisfaction to a scowl.

“You’re probably not gonna get a warm welcome,” Nate warns Dan as they stand up. “But it’s mostly due to Eric’s influence as a prejudiced jerk,” the man in question throws his own mate a glare. “So don’t get disheartened.”

The vampire only nods, glances at Phil for support, and the werewolf is more than happy to provide it. He laces their fingers together and ignores Eric’s look of distaste. Fuck him and his narrow-mindedness.

The Alpha stalks out of the room first and Phil thinks he’s never seen Eric frown for such a long period of time. Good thing werewolves can’t really get wrinkles.

The lounge is filled with standing werewolves. All of them on alert, eyes scanning Dan’s physique. Phil can already hear his mate’s heart speeding up so he presses a bit closer to his side.

It’s customary for the Alpha to introduce a werewolf’s mate to the pack at large but Phil is not expecting that form Eric. Sure, it’s rude and insulting to Phil as it shows that his Alpha does not approve of the beta’s mate. But Phil can deal. As long as there’s no throat ripping or gut clawing, he’ll count it as a success.

“This is Dan,” Nathan says instead and Phil’s immensely grateful to him right now; Alpha’s mate is not a bad substitute for the Alpha himself. “He’s Phil’s mate and I hope all of you will construct your own opinions on him without the influence of our dear Alpha,” he smirks at Eric who only rolls his eyes.

It’s also conventional for the pack members to scent-mark the newly introduced mate by hugging or just somehow touching them. Phil doubts that happening either. His wolf will be saddened, of course, as it needs the approval of the pack but Phil will deal with that too.

“Welcome,” Nathan starts first and hugs Dan for a couple of seconds. Phil warned Dan about the possibility of that happening on the way over but the vampire still stiffens a bit at the contact. Which, understandable; Phil didn’t anticipate that one either.

Marie comes next. Dirty blonde curls getting into Dan’s face as she squeezes him tightly, using her werewolf strength. Phil doesn’t miss her whispered ‘if you hurt him, we’ll all hunt you down’ and simply sighs, shaking his head.

Kate’s not as touchy-feely with new people so she simply brushes her fingers over Dan’s collarbone and offers him one of her smiles along with her name. The vampire nods, a corner of his lips quirking up too.

Surprising everyone, Sarah gets to her feet. Kevin catches her arm, throwing her a look. The twins have a conversation only with their eyes and the girl wins, moving away from her brother and closer to Dan and Phil.

“Hi, I’m Sarah,” the usually shy and quiet girl introduces herself, extending a hand for Dan to shake. Greeting Dan is a bold move on her part since she and her brother joined the pack only half a year ago and her position in the pack is still shaky at best. So going against their Alpha so openly is risky for her.

“Hi,” the brunet smiles softly, accepting the handshake.

Phil throws Sarah a grateful look and she only nods minutely. He didn’t really expect support from her but it’s pleasing to his wolf that not all of his pack hate their mate.

Olivia huffs from her spot near the fireplace and walks towards them. She’s frowning. But at Phil and not at the vampire.

“I can’t believe your dumb ass decided not to share this with me,” she shakes her head. A red curl frees itself from her bun, bouncing slightly. Then the beta turns to Dan.

“Olivia,” she introduces herself. “This one’s,” she points a thumb in Phil’s direction, “supposed best friend. Clearly, we have to work on that,” she directs another displeased look Phil’s way. The werewolf casts his eyes to the ground. Yeah, he’ll have to make it up to her.

“Welcome,” Liv turns back to Dan, clasping a hand on his shoulder and pressing her thumb to his pulse point.

When she moves away, Phil’s sure that’s the end of it and he’ll just have to accept that half his pack does not view his and Dan’s relationship favourably. However, he’s wrong. Anne smirks at them and approaches the vampire and the werewolf. Phil doesn’t like the mischievous glint in her baby blue eyes one bit.

“It seems that it’s girls against true love haters,” she announces, glancing back at their Alpha and the rest of the pack who have not moved to greet Dan. She’s right though. Only the feminine side of the pack seem to be accepting of Dan.

“I’m Anne,” the beta says to the vampire, offering her hand and a smile. Phil narrows his eyes at her. Anne is known for her slight tendency towards chaos and she never was one to greet someone into their pack with much warmth so Phil’s thinking that that adds up to some ulterior motive. And he bets it’s not good.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to introduce you to the rest of the pack so I’ll take it upon myself,” she smirks. “The growly dick over there,” she motions to her on-again-off-again boyfriend, “is Ethan, our dear Alpha’s younger brother. The easily influenced teen is Seth,” she nods at the youngest werewolf who glares at her for the comment.

“The quiet indecisive twosome are Luke and Noah,” she points to the couple. Luke no longer looks actively against Dan and Noah, as always, is just clinging to his boyfriend, clearly not enjoying being anywhere near the pack. Phil thought he’d get over it sooner because he got a way more amicable welcome than Dan’s getting right now. No one growled in _his_ face.

“And the beta who can’t really have any prejudices towards vampires cos he found out about the existence of the supernatural only six months ago and clearly simply wants to stay on our Alpha’s good side is Kevin,” she smiles sweetly at the other werewolf who only purses his lips and crosses his arms.

“Brilliant, Anne, thank you,” Nathan steps forward before she can say anything else. “Now, maybe our kind Alpha would like to share the information we just got from Dan and Phil?” He smiles innocently at his mate.

Eric doesn’t rise to Nathan’s bait and doesn’t even acknowledge Dan’s contribution to the important intel he’s reciting. And, of course, the Alpha has to spin his story so that Dan comes off as some vampire who ‘magically’ broke his creator’s compulsion and is not to be trusted under any circumstances. Phil thinks his eyes will roll into the back of his head from the numerous times he’s rolled them during Eric’s extremely loose rendition of their conversation.

“So, what now?” Olivia asks when their Alpha’s finished.

“We figure out a way how to use Dan’s compulsion to our advantage,” Nathan replies before anyone (namely, Eric who looked like he had something biting to say) can get a word in.

“I’m sorry, what?” The vampire turns his confused gaze Nate’s way. Phil feels just as puzzled.

“You could spy for us on the hunters and feed them false information about us,” the human shrugs. “The information that we want them to know. Maybe about some fake meeting of ours so we could set up a trap for the hunters,” he muses further.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’ll work out,” Dan says quite doubtful. “I’m sure Natalie won’t leave me alone with the hunters and she knows how to use compulsion and avoid loopholes.”

“And your creator could also just compel you to forget the meetings. Or plant some idea in your head making you kill us all,” Anne adds oh so not helpfully. Phil glares at her and she only smirks back.

“Or that,” Dan agrees.

And what? She could really do that to him? Phil will rip her to shreds.

“We have to risk it,” Nathan states simply.

“I won’t let him back near her again,” Phil growls, eyes shining yellow for a second.

“It’s not for you to decide,” Nate says at the same time as Dan glares at Phil and grits out a ‘ _let_ me?’ which is coloured with irritation and a good dose of indignation.

Phil is so not getting into a row with his mate in front of his pack so he chooses to ignore Dan for now. The rest of the pack are not in on this one with him.

“Trouble in paradise?” Anne smirks, glancing from Dan to Phil.

“I want to help your pack, Phil,” at least Dan doesn’t react to her words as he turns to his mate. Eric snorts at the words but doesn’t comment.

“By returning to your scheming and controlling creator who can order you to do almost anything?” Phil asks incredulous. “If she finds out you met my pack, she’ll kill you,” he says desperately, not even caring that thirteen other people are watching them.

Dan rolls his eyes.

“She wouldn’t kill me,” he replies. “She’d probably compel me to do it myself,” he mumbles so low that Phil nearly doesn’t catch it. But he does and so he growls lowly.

“You are _not_ going near her again,” the beta reiterates every word, trying to control the shift.

“You can’t tell me what I can and cannot do,” Dan glares at him, crossing his arms, jaw clenched.

Nathan claps his hands, directing everyone’s attention to him. The human gives a brief glance to Phil, something along the lines of ‘calm the fuck down’.

“Alright,” Nate says, faux cheerily. “This plan clearly needs some refining. How about we get some rest and meet back here when it’s not two a.m. and we haven’t spent the whole night searching the woods for a stray omega?” He suggests.

“I totally second that plan, I’m beat,” Olivia yawns, stretching her arms above her head.

Of course, none of the werewolves actually move to do anything. They all turn to Eric, who’s got his attention focused on Dan; still viewing him as a threat. Phil wants to sigh.

“Fine,” the Alpha finally grits out. “We’ll meet back here in the morning.”

Everyone groans in relief. Luke and Noah are the first ones out, as usual. The rest of the werewolves trickle out of the room and go upstairs. Phil doesn’t miss Olivia’s murderous look and her mumbled ‘you owe me a lot of explaining’. He just nods, accepting his fate. Kate and Marie both touch Dan’s shoulder as they pass by, strengthening the pack scent on him; Phil’s extremely glad for that. Ethan sneers when he gets close to them, making Dan flinch and Phil growl in response. Seth only shakes his head and Kevin ignores them completely.

When the room clears, it’s only Phil, Dan, Eric and Nathan left. Clearly, Nate doesn’t trust leaving Phil to deal with the Alpha alone.

“Eric, come on,” the human coaxes, brows furrowed in worry.

The Alpha turns to Phil, the scowl has left his face, he looks impassive, void of emotions.

“You are no longer my second in command,” he declares. The command in his voice makes Phil wince, causing him physical pain.

“Eric, don’t,” Nathan cautions, eyes boring into his mate as he takes a step forward.

Phil can’t even find his voice right now. He stares slack-jawed at his Alpha, wolf howling inside his head, heart beating a mile a minute. He feels Dan’s fingers wrap around his upper arm.

Eric doesn’t so much as glance at his mate, eyes still focused on Phil. The beta can hear how everyone upstairs have gone silent, still, listening intently. Such a thing has never happened in their pack.

“I do not trust you or your judgement anymore, and I do not trust your ability to follow my orders and have my back as a beta should,” he continues and Nathan shakes his head, lips pursed. “Your position in the pack will be considered. If I even think to leave you in our pack at all.”

Phil swallows loudly, eyes pricking with tears, but he nods in acknowledgement. A whole wave of sadness hits him through the pack bonds and he’s completely overwhelmed. His wolf is whining and whimpering.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Nate swears at Eric and storms out of the room. Phil would appreciate Nathan’s obvious support of him if he weren’t preventing himself from hyperventilating.

The Alpha closes his eyes for a second, breathing deeply.

“That is all. You can leave now,” he says calmly, focus back on Phil. And the beta thinks he preferred the Alpha raging and scowling. At least then he knew how to deal with it; could direct his anger right back at him. But this… this crushes Phil completely.

Dan tugs on Phil’s arm and the werewolf moves slow and sluggish. His world just came crashing down and he has no idea what to do. He expected Eric not to accept Dan, maybe order Phil not to see him again, but to threaten to throw him out of the pack? A low blow.

Phil’s in a daze and he has no idea how much time has passed but they’re still driving down the freeway so it can’t have been that long. Dan’s behind the wheel, of course, glancing at Phil with worry every now and again.

“I’m so sorry,” the vampire whispers not for the first time.

“Not your fault,” Phil sighs and closes his eyes, thumping his head on the headrest. “It was my decision.”

“But you said you can’t choose a mate so it wasn’t, not really,” Dan mumbles, fingers gripping onto the wheel more tightly.

“I could have chosen not to see you again. I could have chosen not to introduce you to the pack. I could’ve chosen a lot of things, Dan, and I chose you,” he glances at the brunet briefly. “Yes, the universe thinks you’re my other half but it doesn’t mean you were completely forced on me,” he says resolutely.

“Okay,” Dan mumbles simply.

He reaches out and Phil intertwines their fingers. The touch of his mate is calming to the wolf but it doesn’t stave off the gut clenching sadness and misery he feels. Clearly, in Phil’s case, having a mate doesn’t resolve problems, simply creates new ones. Just his luck.

Dan’s phone rings in the silence of the car and Phil reluctantly lets go of his hand. The vampire quickly fishes the device out and answers it.

“You dick, where have you disappeared to without so much as a text?” Reina’s disgruntled voice sounds through the line. Yeah, she and Dan have a unique relationship.

“I went to meet Phil’s pack,” the vampire replies, rolling his eyes. “And I didn’t know I have to report my whereabouts to you.”

“Of course, you have to,” the witch bristles. “There are hunters running around, and who knows what Natalie has planned. I’m worried about your dumb ass getting killed.” She doesn’t really _sound_ that worried.

“I’m touched by your concern,” Dan sighs. “Now that you know that I’m fine,” he prompts.

“I found the spell, idiot,” Reina says, not about to be dismissed.

“What spell?” Phil questions, suddenly intrigued. Dan glances at him but doesn’t say anything in response.

“Can you perform it now?” The vampire asks.

Reina hums a bit, something rustling in the background.

“I think I have everything I need, so yeah,” the witch responds.

“Great, we’re on our way back,” Dan says. “Get it all ready.”

“Don’t throw orders at me, Howell,” Reina grunts. “But I’ll have it ready,” she adds in a more amicable tone before the line disconnects.

Dan pockets his phone, eyes still on the road, teeth gnawing on his lip.

“Are you gonna make me get it out of you?” Phil questions, eyebrows raised. “What’s this spell?”

“Reina’s going to break my connection with Natalie so she wouldn’t be able to compel me anymore,” Dan answers.

“That’s great,” Phil smiles a little. That’s the best news he’s got in like two weeks. It sucks that it’s overshadowed by the whole clusterfuck of tonight.

“Yeah,” the brunet nods, still worrying at his lip.

Phil feels his mate’s uneasiness but doesn’t know where it’s coming from. Isn’t it Dan’s dream to finally be free of his creator and his coven? He should be way more excited about this. Or maybe the spell is not exactly pleasant? Phil knows that there are spells to break mate bonds and those are gruesome. It wouldn’t be too outrageous to think this might be the same. But if it grants Dan freedom then it’s totally worth it.

The werewolf grabs the vampire’s hand again. The chilly touch is something he already got used to and doesn’t imagine it being any other way.

“It’ll be fine,” Phil reassures him, managing another smile.

Dan snorts but nods, tangling their fingers together.


	12. Chapter 12

“Why the hell is there a tarp on my living room floor? Are you about to commit gruesome murder?” Dan’s standing by his door, looking at a huge black plastic sheet, covering the space between his lounge and kitchen, with a raised eyebrow.

Reina huffs, rolling her eyes. She’s by the kitchen island, which is covered with herbs, books, and various tools. The witch is grinding something in a mortar with a pestle. It does not smell pleasant.

“It’s for the spell, you idiot,” she replies, grudgingly. “There’s gonna be blood. And that’s difficult to clean so, really, I’m being super considerate here.”

“Blood?” Phil asks from beside Dan, closing the door. He’s frowning. “I don’t like this. It sounds too dangerous,” he eyes the tarp as if it’s a sacrificial altar and Dan’s about to be slaughtered.

Dan sighs. Trust Phil to care about Dan’s well-being after he’s been threatened by his Alpha to be thrown out of the pack _because of_ Dan. The vampire feels shitty for the situation as it is, he so doesn’t need this added to his growing guilt.

Reina snorts at Phil’s words. And really, she’s not helping, like, at all.

“If it were easy and safe, vampires would be doing this left and right,” she tells him. Yep. Totally not helpful.

“I don’t think you should do this,” the werewolf says, hand landing on Dan’s shoulder.

“It’s gonna be fine,” the brunet pats Phil’s hand. He has no idea how many times over the last twenty four hours he heard that or said it himself; the words are losing all meaning. “Right?” He turns to his friend for reassurance.

The witch shrugs a shoulder, her focus completely dedicated to the grinding.

“In theory,” she replies.

Dan closes his eyes for a brief second and Phil growls lowly. The vampire is really touched that Phil’s that worried but he really needs to get this done and doesn’t want to fight the wolf on this. The least Reina could do is provide some fake reassurances. But, apparently, his choice in friends is abysmal.

There’s the familiar scent of blood in the room and Dan’s eyes zero in on Reina’s hand on instinct. It’s not really appealing to him, only Phil’s blood makes his mouth water these days, but the monster inside him can’t ignore the scent.

The witch has only pricked her finger and a few fat dollops of the red liquid drop into the mortar. Electricity zings in the air and the lights flicker.

“Come here,” Reina waves Dan over.

The vampire moves to obey but Phil’s fingers wrap around his wrist. The wolf whines a bit, pouting. Dan would coo at him and call him adorable if he weren’t hindering a serious spell making business.

“I’m gonna be fine,” he says again and he’s sick of those empty reassurances, he needs to come up with something more original.

Dan tugs Phil forward by his shirt and smacks their mouths together. He hears Reina’s put upon sigh in the background but ignores it in order to focus on the kiss. It’s slow and languid with a few nips from the werewolf (Dan already figured Phil’s a biter. Such a stereotype. Dan’s secretly enjoying it, though.). Phil’s fingers curl around Dan’s hips, pulling him closer, and Dan has his hands in Phil’s hair, carding through it. The wolf’s high temperature is already familiar to Dan and he easily accepts the scorching heat on his own chilly skin.

Before it can go any further and before they embarrass themselves in front of an audience, the brunet pulls away. They’re both breathing harder than they should after a simple kiss and Phil’s pupils are blown wide, Dan supposes that his are too.

“We’ll continue that when the spell is done,” the vampire promises, smirking.

Phil’s too stunned to answer, apparently, and Dan extricates himself from the werewolf’s grip quite easily. He squeezes the others fingers before losing all contact points altogether and goes to Reina who’s looking at him with a raised eyebrow, tapping her foot impatiently. Dan rolls his eyes.

“Give me your hand,” the witch demands, extending her own.

The vampire obliges by placing his hand, palm up, in Reina’s. Grabbing a knife she used to prick her finger, the witch closes her fingers over Dan’s wrist and brings his hand over the mortar. She slices Dan’s palm. Blood gushes onto the vampire’s skin, thick and ruby red. Phil protests with a rumble deep within his chest and Dan looks up, not expecting for him to be this close.

Reina tips Dan’s hand sideways and the blood drips in large drops into the mortar. Once more electricity zings through the air, making lights flicker again, and a purple fog starts creeping out of the bowl, sliding down the surface of the kitchen island. It clears soon enough, leaving dark violet goop in the mortar.

“Right,” Reina mumbles. “Now comes the fun part. I get to slice you open,” she grins at Dan. But he can tell that it’s too forced and she’s not really enjoying that notion.

There’s a flash of lightning from outside and rain starts pouring down heavily, beating loud staccato on the windows. Dan thinks it’s a bit cliché for the situation at hand.

“What?” Phil sneers through the grumbling of the thunder that accompanies the lightning.

“It’s a part of the spell,” the witch rolls her eyes. “And technically, I’m not gonna be doing the slicing but he,” she indicates Dan, “is gonna get sliced.”

“Can we stop using the word ‘sliced’?” The vampire groans.

The storm rages outside like it hasn’t been quiet just a minute ago. Wind howls, all hostile and intimidating. The raindrops seem to be getting fatter by the sound of them on the glass. Thunder and lightning keep rumbling and flashing respectively.

“Get your shirt off,” Reina instructs, grabbing the mortar, “and lie down on the tarp.”

Dan does as he’s told. Phil hovers near him but the witch shoos the wolf away. The vampire lifts his head as snarling can be heard and he sees Phil’s eyes flashing golden at Reina. She seems unconcerned and only purses her lips.

“I don’t need your werewolfiness interrupting my spell,” she glares at the beta. “Go stand by the door,” she motions with a hand that’s holding the knife she used previously.

Phil grumbles something under his nose but obeys. He stands there, scowling, arms crossed, muscles tense. After offering the werewolf a, Dan hopes, reassuring smile, the brunet lies back down and stares at his ceiling. There are a few cobwebs on the beams that support the ceiling. He needs to clean more often.

Reina kneels by his right side, placing the mortar down but still holding onto the knife.

“We don’t want to alert Natalie to this happening so I modified the spell that only you would feel the bond breaking,” she says softly and that worries Dan more than anything. When Reina’s not being snappy and insulting, it usually does not mean anything good.

“You’ll get all of the pain from the break and it’s gonna suck ass. Like, a lot,” she gnaws on her lip, concern shining in her black eyes, and she suddenly looks her age, too young to be doing something like this. “You have to be sure, Dan, ‘cause when I start I won’t be able to stop it.”

“I’m sure,” the vampire nods. He breathes out slowly, turning his eyes back to the ceiling.

He wanted to do this since day one. Granted, then he didn’t know it was possible and this was only a dream. But now he’s completely sure that he wants out of his coven, out of Natalie’s grasp, no matter how painful severing the ties may be.

“Do it,” Dan tells Reina who seems to be hesitating a bit.

“Right,” she exhales, steeling herself, and dips the knife into the purple goop.

At first there’s nothing much. Dan listens to the storm outside: the rapid pitter-patter of the rain, the wailing of the wind. Then he focuses on Phil’s heartbeat that’s slightly too fast, on his breathing that he’s trying to regulate. Reina’s drawing symbols on his chest with the blunt side of the knife, smearing the goop. It burns a little but not much worse than Phil’s touch.

After she’s done with the drawing, the witch puts the objects she used aside and raises up on her knees, looming over Dan. She puts her right hand on his chest and her left on his forehead.

“We can still stop,” she whispers.

Dan lifts an eyebrow at her. She huffs and then nods, continuing.

Reina starts chanting in what Dan supposes is Latin. It could very well be Greek though, he’s not that knowledgeable in languages, ancient or otherwise. The wind outside picks up and it sounds like hail is starting to come down instead of rain. And then Dan feels it.

His heart speeds up, painfully so, as it is no longer used to the fast rates. There’s a pressure building up in his head, pounding onto his brain. Dan screws his eyes shut; the light becoming too much for him. His breathing is ragged and he can hardly draw in oxygen.

He barely registers Phil’s low whine from the other side of the room before his senses go numb. Dan can’t feel Reina’s touch anymore, or the scratchy tarp under his body. He can’t hear the storm or Phil’s heartbeat. He can’t see the cobwebbed ceiling above. Panic seeps in and he knows he must be hyperventilating or something but he _can’t feel anything_.

It lasts for a few seconds or maybe hours but then his senses return in an overload. Dan opens his eyes and screams. His muscles tense up as he’s seemingly ripped apart from within, every sensation more prominent at least tenfold. The lights are too bright, the beating of the two hearts and the two people breathing too loud, Reina’s hands on him scorching his skin.

The vampire cries out even louder when deep gashes start opening on his arms. They go from the top of his shoulder, over his upper arm, winding down onto the inside of his forearm, his wrist, splitting into five and ending with the tips of his fingers. He’s bleeding out, and fast.

The pain is excruciating and of all imaginable kinds. There’s burning on his skin, and cutting on his arms, and stabbing in his gut, and pounding in his head. It’s too much and pleas stumble out of Dan’s mouth. He’s crying, begging for Reina to stop, his frame is shuddering and his heart is ready to give out.

Throat raw from screaming, Dan can only whimper as the pain _does. Not. Fucking. Stop_. Red blurs over the vampire’s eyes and he can taste copper on his tongue. He’s pretty sure he’s bleeding out of his eyes now.

Electricity courses through his veins, burning him from the inside out, and his body jolts, making Dan scream again. His throat must be bleeding too. Probably everything’s bleeding, and he’s just lying in a pool of his own blood.

He can’t breathe. He’s drowning. The pressure in his brain intensifies. It seems like the invisible knives dig deeper into his arms. His chest is about to explode. The agony becomes too much to bear and his eyes roll into his head as he loses consciousness.

***

There’s a hand on his shoulder and Dan winces, his skin too sensitive for the touch. He blinks, trying to make his eyes work. Vision is blurry but it’s getting there. He feels like he’s been trampled by wild animals, run over with a truck, and carved open all at once.

“There, there, it’s alright,” Reina’s quiet murmur greets his ears and Dan flinches again. It’s too loud.

A growl sounds through the loft, indicating that it isn’t really _alright_ , and Dan frowns. Everything’s too much and he just wants to sleep. He blinks a couple more times before letting his eyes close shut.

“Hey, don’t pass out on me again, Howell,” Reina demands, shaking his frame.

Dan groans in displeasure, trying to bat her away but his muscles are useless and he can’t even lift a finger.

“Leave me alone,” he finds his voice and it sounds gravely, like he’s been smoking for the past fifty years. “I’m tired,” he mumbles.

“Dan, you have to stay awake,” Phil’s soft tone coaxes him from the other side.

And who’s Dan to deny his mate anything. So he opens his eyes and sweeps them over Phil’s worried face. The werewolf cracks a strained smile. Dan tries to smile back but has no idea if it actually happened.

“Did it work?” He wonders, lolling his head to his right where Reina is kneeling.

“Yeah, I think so,” her grin is wobbly, tears shining in her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she chokes out, hand over her mouth.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Dan murmurs, his tongue doesn’t quite work yet so it’s difficult for him to talk. He ignores Phil’s snort of derision at the words and continues, “I agreed. You said it would be painful. I didn’t know there could be _this_ much pain but it was my fault. I wanted this, Rei.”

She nods, wiping at her cheeks angrily. Reina never was one to express her emotions openly and she hates showing weakness of any sort. Yeah, she’s one of those people.

“You’re right,” the witch sniffs. “It’s totally your fault.”

Dan huffs out a laugh and it rattles his bones, making every cell in his body ache. He groans again and breathes through it.

“Shit,” Phil exclaims and the vampire turns to him.

The werewolf’s eyes are wide. He has a hand on Dan’s shoulder and is leeching away the pain with his cool werewolf powers. Black veins are pulsating on his arm but Dan’s not experiencing much of a change.

“You’re in a ton of pain,” Phil states disbelievingly.

“Yeah, noticed,” the brunet grimaces. “Now help me up,” he attempts to sit up but his muscles are not cooperating whatsoever. “I don’t want to be lying in my own blood more than necessary.”

Phil and Reina help him to sit up and Dan swears at the amount of blood that has been drawn out of him. The sticky liquid covers his arms and back, it’s in his hair and seeping into his jeans. He feels disgusting.

“Ugh, I need a bath,” he mumbles, frowning.

Reina looks up at Phil.

“You help him and I’ll clean up this mess?” She suggests.

The werewolf nods, face set in a scowl. He lifts Dan up, bridal style, and the vampire groans a complaint.

“I’m so losing badass points for this,” he grumbles into Phil’s shoulder and the werewolf snorts, though it isn’t very amused.

Phil sets Dan down onto the tiled bathroom floor, probably not trusting him not to fall off any other higher surface. Once the door is closed, the wolf kneels in front of Dan, freeing him out of his clothes.

“Woah, that’s a bit fast, we’ve not even been on a date,” the vampire jokes and grits his teeth at the pain still coursing through him.

Phil sends him an unimpressed glance and pulls Dan’s blood soaked jeans down his thighs.

“I’m a werewolf,” he states. “Nudity doesn’t really affect me much.”

His tone is clipped. His fingers move mechanically though gently over Dan’s still too sensitive skin and Phil draws out some of the pain when he can. His jaw is set, however, and lips pursed.

“Are you angry with me?” The vampire wonders, astonished.

Phil’s eyes flash golden, he stops his movements.

“You nearly got yourself killed, Dan,” he says too softly for Dan’s liking. “And this time you could’ve actually prevented it. You could’ve said no to Reina.”

“I was trying to help your pack,” the vampire frowns. “Natalie could’ve ordered for me to do any array of unspeakable things and I might have not even known I was supposed to do them before the time came. She could’ve ordered me to kill you at a certain date and deleted that knowledge from my memory. And I would’ve done it,” Dan stops for a bit, throat burning from the damage done by the spell.

“I would’ve killed you if only she told me to. And I wouldn’t have been able to warn you. Creator compulsions are disgusting and violating and a vampire can’t fight them. I could’ve slaughtered your whole pack if she only told me to,” tears are gathering at his eyes and Dan grits his teeth, not letting them fall.

“This,” he indicates his beaten and achy body with a feeble hand, “is nothing compared to what I would’ve felt if she told me to kill you. You can be angry with me but for me it was worth it.”

Phil gapes at him for a second and then lunges forward, connecting their lips. Dan’s eager to follow Phil but his body is still too weak to actually do so. The wolf easily makes up for that and Dan hums in appreciation before an involuntary giggle escapes past his lips, effectively breaking the kiss.

“What?” Phil asks, pouting that he had to stop.

“Dude,” Dan grins. “I’m sitting covered in blood on my bathroom floor with my jeans half down my legs and you still want to suck my face. I’m one lucky guy,” he snickers.

Phil rolls his eyes and pulls back but he looks fond so Dan beams even harder.

The werewolf finishes undressing the brunet pretty quickly and efficiently. Then he places the naked vampire into the tub. Dan’s now gathered enough strength to sit up by himself, not needing to lean on anything, but he still clutches the edges of the tub quite fiercely. Taking the shower head, Phil turns on the water and Dan shivers when the first droplets hit his skin. He moans softly as he’s enveloped in warmth and it’s total bliss.

Phil clears his throat and Dan’s attention is at once drawn to him. The werewolf’s cheeks are red and he’s clearly trying to focus on scrubbing the blood off Dan’s back and not look anywhere else.

“Not affected by nudity, right?” Dan smirks like the little shit he is and receives a glare from Phil.

“If you wouldn’t make _sexual_ noises,” the wolf grumbles under his nose, huffing.

“Do my noises make you want to get into my pants?” Dan waggles his eyebrows. And then he looks down at himself. “Well, if I had them on, anyway.”

Phil snorts and shakes his head. He doesn’t deign Dan with a response, grabbing a sponge and shower gel. Another noise of contentment falls off Dan’s lips at Phil’s ministrations and he feels how the werewolf stutters in his movements. The vampire grins to himself.

After Phil’s cleaned the blood off of him and the water no longer turns rose red when dripping down Dan’s body and into the tub, the beta eases Dan against the back of the tub and lets the water run, filling half the bath. The vampire sighs. Warm water is soothing to his aching muscles and he would kiss Phil for taking such good care of him if only Dan could move.

“You need to feed,” Phil mumbles, yawning.

“You need to sleep,” Dan counters as a yawn of his own slips past his lips. “Apparently, I do too.”

“Later,” the wolf grumbles and Dan’s got his forearm in his face. “Feed,” he instructs.

The vampire briefly wonders if all werewolves start talking in one word sentences when they get tired.

“You’re too exhausted,” the brunet bats the hand away but Phil sticks it in his face again and frowns.

Dan huffs. But he has to admit that he’s ravenous. Besides, he just lost a load of his own blood and needs to restore at least some of it in order to properly function. So he gives in, wraps his fingers around Phil’s arm and sinks his fangs into the forearm.

The hot blood floods his mouth as soon as he rips a vein open, and Dan gulps down like it’s the first drink he’s had in years. His vision blurs as his eyes turn black. The familiar calmness washes over him in waves and effectively drowns him. Then there’s only Phil and him and the rest of the world dims, fading away.

He feels Phil’s desire like it’s his own and knows the frenzy that comes next. The wolf’s fingers are running through Dan’s hair, down his neck and back, gently caressing, dipping under the water line. The vampire hums appreciatively and swallows a couple more gulps before licking over the wound he inflicted and pulling back.

Phil meets him greedily, licking into his mouth, not even minding the blood on Dan’s tongue. Dan’s fingers knot themselves in Phil’s hair as he lifts up, kneeling in the half full bath, facing the other and never losing contact of their lips. Phil paws at Dan’s wet skin, wanting him closer. But Dan’s already losing breath and his head starts spinning so he pulls back.

The wolf doesn’t mind that at all and his mouth slips down Dan’s throat, biting and sucking. This elicits a moan from Dan and there’s a rumble deep within Phil’s chest, clearly liking it. However, Dan’s muscles are trembling with too much exertion after the spell and he pushes at Phil.

“Wait,” he says, breathing raggedly. It seems he’s the only one stopping their make-out sessions. “I’d really like to continue this but I’m beat,” he blinks in rapid succession; fighting off sleep is becoming more and more difficult.

“Right, yeah,” Phil mumbles, licking his lips, and Dan can’t help himself from pecking them. The werewolf smiles affectionately. “Let’s get you dressed.”

After ten minutes Dan’s already dry, dressed, and armed with a deadly amount of information on which noises draw the most interesting reactions out of Phil. He still needs Phil’s support to get to the lounge without collapsing but the wolf seems more than happy to help.

“You’d never think I nearly died here,” Dan muses as he looks over at the space between the kitchen and the lounge where the ritual took place.

Phil growls from beside him, not a fan of that comment, and Reina scoffs, packing away her books and herbs.

“Where’s the ‘thank you, Reina, the light of my life, for cleaning all the sticky vampire blood off my floor while I was getting naughty with my boyfriend in the bathroom’,” the witch lifts an eyebrow at him.

“Firstly, we were not ‘getting naughty’,” Dan uses air quotes as he leans away from Phil and sits on a chair by the kitchen island. Phil’s hovering behind him, fingers rubbing at the nape of Dan’s neck, and Dan’s way too tired to argue about the scent-marking so he ignores it for the moment. “And secondly, I think ‘thank you’ is enough. So thanks,” he smirks at her.

Reina rolls her eyes and Dan notices how much the spell took out of her too: she has bags under her eyes and looks too pale. They all need some well-deserved rest. He wants to suggest going to bed when Phil stiffens and whines. The vampire turns to him instantly. Phil’s eyes are shining gold, his grip on Dan’s neck becomes uncomfortable. But before anyone can ask, Phil’s phone rings. That snaps the werewolf out of the haze.

“What’s going on?” The beta asks, brow furrowed, as soon as he answers the call.

There’s hard breathing down the line and some major rustling and things banging.

“A mile east of the house,” Dan hears Nathan’s hard voice. “I have no idea what is happening but we need _everyone_ , Phil. Now,” he orders and the line goes dead.

Phil jumps into action instantly, pocketing his phone and grabbing his car keys from the kitchen island. As he wants to sprint for the door, Dan stops him by grabbing the back of his shirt.

“I’m going too,” the vampire decides impulsively. He still feels like shit and his limbs don’t quite cooperate but he needs to prove to Phil’s Alpha his worth, that he can be useful to the pack, and this seems like a perfect opportunity.

The werewolf frowns at him instantly.

“You can barely stand,” he looks Dan up and down.

The vampire rolls his eyes and stands up. He has to catch himself on the island’s edge when his head gets woozy but he won’t be deterred so he ignores Phil’s lifted eyebrow and goes to put on his sneakers that are lying somewhere by the couch.

“Dan, come on,” Phil whines. “I’ll worry about you the whole time you’re going to be there and I’ll be of no help to them.”

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much,” Dan purses his lips as he ties his shoelaces with a bit more difficulty than usual because his hands are trembling.

“Can you tell him that he’s an idiot?” Phil turns to Reina.

“You’re an idiot,” the witch tells Dan, her arms crossed.

And Dan feels betrayed. Here he thought his boyfriend and best friend hated each other and now they’re ganging up on him. He sets his lips into a hard line and stares Phil down.

“I’m going,” he states. “We can argue and lose precious time or you can just accept it.”

Phil groans, looking up to the ceiling as if asking for strength.

“You’re an ass,” the wolf jabs a finger in his direction. “Let’s go,” he says, giving up. Dan grins.

The vampire follows the werewolf out the door but they’re joined by a third presence. Dan turns to Reina.

“What are you doing?” He asks, baffled.

“I’m not letting you roam around the woods in a storm when fuck knows what is happening after you nearly died,” the witch responds. She sets her jaw, daring Dan to protest. But the brunet only looks at Phil.

The beta throws his hands up, exasperated.

“Fine, whatever, let’s just _go_ ,” he motions to the stairwell, urgency in his voice.

As they’re rushing down the stairs, Dan’s thinking that he never experienced pack bonds, obviously, but he thinks the instinct to help his pack makes Phil a crabby person. The drastic change in his personality is interesting. Dan wonders how his own personality would have changed if he were a werewolf instead of a vampire.

“Hurry up,” Phil tugs at Dan’s hand, impatient, and Dan focuses on the task at hand.

He has to help Phil’s pack somehow, prove to the Alpha that Dan’s not simply a ‘manipulative evil murderer’. Maybe then Eric will not throw Phil out of the pack. Dan scoffs to himself. Yeah, as if they’re that lucky.

***

Phil’s car skids to a stop on a forest road in front of a road block with a sign saying ‘private property’ hung on it. They get out of the car at top speed, and Phil’s running off, not even bothering to close the door. Dan totally gets this as even he can hear the howling and growling over the pouring rain.

The vampire grabs Reina’s hand and they take off after Phil, slipping on the muddy ground, blinking rapidly through the storm. Dan’s soaked within minutes, and he’s breathing hard from the exertion but adrenalin adds a boost to his bloodstream, making the exhaustion take a backseat.

When they reach the pack, it’s utter chaos. Gold and blue eyes shine in the dark, there are guns firing, actual wolves roaring and slashing at each other. Dan can’t make out who’s who, especially with the heavy rain, and because he has no fucking idea how each of the pack looks in full shift. His plan to somehow help goes to shit.

“Oh my god,” Reina whispers beside him, words nearly swallowed by all the noise happening all around.

A wolf hits a tree to Dan’s right and the vampire jumps back immediately, watching it. Golden eyes flash at him, the black wolf growls, baring its teeth, but quickly lopes back and jumps onto a what seems to be a werewolf in beta shift.

“Eyes!” A familiar voice resounds through the woods. He gathers it’s Nathan.

Dan has no clue what the hell that means. Something zings through the air and suddenly bursts of blinding light come to life to Dan’s left. He’s momentarily blinded and blinks rapidly to get his vision back. It returns fast enough and the vampire can see a few arrows embedded in the trees, light fizzing out of them but it’s quickly being reduced by the rain.

Reina chants something and a couple balls of light appear over her palm. She sends those into trees and the fighting field is illuminated. Finally, Dan can see clearly.

In front of him there are two beta shifted werewolves and five full shifted ones. The half shifted ones look deranged. Their mouths are dripping with some black substance, eyes are shifting from glowing blue to their normal colours constantly. Both of them have enough claw and bite marks to kill them but they’re still kicking ass. One of the fully shifted wolves is limping around, another is breathing heavily, tongue rolled out, as it stands off a bit, the other three are snarling and snapping at the betas to no avail.

A couple gun shots ring through the air. One of the half shifted wolves stumbles back, turns to his left and roars. Dan follows his line of sight and sees Nathan. The human’s hair is matted to his forehead, he has a frown on his face, a gun pointing at the rogue wolf, a bow in his other hand, and a quiver on his back. Right. Ex-mercenary.

Nathan’s eyes meet Dan’s and his frown deepens. The wolves jump on the rogue ones and Nate glances at the fight. Then he’s running towards Dan and Reina.

“Omegas,” he motions his gun towards the tangle of limbs and growling. He has to talk quite loud so as to be heard over the roaring of the rain and the werewolves. “We thought there was only one but there are at least three. Half the pack is chasing the other one. It’s difficult in the rain.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Reina questions.

“No idea,” Nathan shakes his head. “They might be poisoned by wolfsbane. Usually, it’s way easier to deal with stray omegas, they’re weak without a pack. No clue what’s happening with those,” his eyes turn back to the fight.

“Which one’s Phil?” Dan asks.

He watches as a black wolf is flung off the omega, crashing into a grey one that was limping before. A ginger wolf circles the other omega, another black one following its lead. A sandy wolf tries to jump onto the first omega but yelps when claws sink into it and the omega pulls him off.

“The ginger one,” Nathan replies. And Dan sighs in relief. At least Phil’s not getting flung around. “He and Ethan work surprisingly well when they’re both in full shift,” he adds as the two werewolves in question attack the omega.

Ethan snaps at the omega’s legs, grabbing hold, and Phil jumps onto his back. The ginger wolf sinks his teeth into the omega’s throat and shakes, ripping the flesh away. The omega chokes, blood pours out of his mouth, mixing with the black ooze. Ethan steps back, pulling the omega’s leg with him to the side, making the bone snap, and the omega falls to his knees, one of his legs bent at an awkward angle, bone sticking out.

The black wolf moves out of the way, job done, and scurries to help with the other rogue werewolf. Meanwhile, Phil’s growling and holding onto the omega’s throat. His muzzle is soaked in blood that is quickly washed away by the rain. With another hard chomp, the omega’s head rolls to the side, and Dan can see the torn flesh, blood pouring onto the ground.

He nearly gags.

The sandy wolf is hanging onto the second omega’s hand, shaking its head, ripping the muscle. The omega howls, clawed hand sweeps for the wolf. But the grey wolf grabs that arm, biting down onto the forearm and tearing with a hard turn of the head. The limb is left in the wolf’s jaws.

Dan is totally going to be sick.

At that moment, the ginger wolf jumps onto the roaring omega’s front, knocking him down with the momentum. Dan can’t really see but he can hear as Phil’s tearing into the rogue werewolf’s throat. The sandy wolf pulls away, licking the blood off its canines. When Phil’s done, he turns around, dark red liquid dripping off his mouth.

Nathan laughs beside Dan and the vampire is lost.

“Phil’s still acting like second in command,” the human says. “He took both of the kills,” he explains.

Dan just nods and looks away from the torn corpses. Reina’s facial expression is mirroring his. Her eyes are wide as she glances over all of the pack members in astonishment.

“Good job, pups,” Nate shouts at the wolves and they lift their heads, howling in victory.

The human turns back to Dan, a smile on his face. He seems to want to say something but the wolves start growling and there are gunshots. Dan reacts instinctively and pulls Reina down with himself to the muddy ground.

Glancing away from the witch, Dan sees Nathan lying beside him, the side of his shirt slowly being dyed a too dark colour. The human pales instantly, his muscles going slack, weapons slipping out of his grip. The wolves howl again. Only this time it’s in agony and anger.

A thought that the Alpha will probably murder Dan if he lets the Alpha’s mate die crosses Dan’s mind so he scrambles to help, putting pressure on Nate’s wound, hoping to slow the bleeding down. It only helps in getting his fingers soaked with blood.

More gunfire sounds in the air, followed by growling, the ripping of flesh and screams of humans. The vampire glances up briefly. Reina’s standing in front of Dan and Nathan, holding her hands up, summoning an invisible shield to protect them.

The wolves are now fighting humans. Ethan’s chowing down on some guy’s side, the sandy wolf knocks a girl down, she loses the grip on her gun and it skids through the mud, the grey wolf runs to help Ethan, and Phil and the other black wolf are avoiding a rain of bullets as more hunters emerge from the trees.

“We have to move!” Reina shouts, turning to Dan.

The vampire nods. He looks down at the injured human. Nathan’s already lost consciousness and he’s bleeding out quickly. Shit. Dan thought that as a vampire he’d never get enough of blood but he’s so done with it.

A wolf is knocked their way, sliding through the mud. It stops a human just in front of them. A very naked female human.

“Get him to the house,” Kate pants out. She’s got a bullet wound in her shoulder that’s blackening her veins and seeping poison into her body. “We’ll hold them off. They can’t know where we live. If you spot a hunter, kill them,” she snarls and then glances at Nathan's prone form. “Keep him _alive_ ,” it sounds like an order.

Dan nods a couple of times, eyes wide. Kate huffs. She turns around on all fours and roars, shifting instantly. After a second, a grey wolf is already running at the hunters.

The vampire can’t help it, he searches for Phil. The ginger wolf is writhing between two hunters. One is below him, he has his hands on Phil’s muzzle, pushing the sharp teeth away. A girl is gripping onto Phil’s fur, trying to pry him away from the guy beneath him. Phil doesn’t seem to be hurt. Good.

Dan’s eyes slip away to check on the other wolves and he meets one of the hunter’s gaze.

Gordon smiles at Dan amicably and tips his head slightly in acknowledgement. Then he takes a shot at the sandy wolf, the pleased smile never leaving his face. The wolf yelps in pain and stumbles back. But there’s no blood or wound as it drops to its side, a dart sticking out of its shoulder.

A million of questions run through Dan’s mind. Why didn’t Gordon just kill the wolf? Why would he drug it? What does he have to gain from-?

And then it hits him.

Fuck. They’re planning to _take_ them.

“Dan!” Reina distracts him. She’s got one of her palms open, a light orb on it, the other hand is still extended towards the fight.

“They’re gonna kidnap the wolves!” The vampire panics. His heart is thrumming way too fast and he just thinks that this night will never fucking end.

The witch glances at the wolves and then back at Nathan.

“He’ll die,” she says. “They don’t seem to want to kill the wolves,” Reina looks back at the werewolves. They’re still fighting and now avoiding the darts.

“Fuck,” Dan whispers to himself. Then he lifts his head up, decision made. “Come on,” he tells Reina.

The vampire lifts Nathan, struggling more than under normal circumstances when he hasn’t been drained of blood not two hours ago. Shit, this is fucked up.

He stumbles a few times but he and Reina set a rhythm and they jog through the woods, back to Phil’s car. It’s only a few minutes away but Dan’s already panting when they reach the vehicle. Reina seats herself behind the wheel and Dan gets in the backseat with Nathan.

They speed off. Dan’s directing Reina to the Alpha’s house and he’s back on putting pressure on Nate’s wound. The human’s pulse is slowing too fast for Dan’s liking. Eric will so kill him.

“Give him your blood,” Reina says. Her voice is quivering. And yeah, when they were with Natalie, neither of them had seen fights like this. It’s a jarring experience.

“Can’t,” Dan mumbles. The stench of blood is overpowering in the small car and Dan has to resist the urge to tear into Nathan’s throat even though he logically knows that he won’t be able to stomach his blood. “The bullet is still in the wound. I can’t let it close up with the bullet still inside.”

“Shit,” Reina summarizes and speeds up.

They reach the house pretty quickly and Dan’s shocked at how quiet it is, besides the sound of rain. Reina sprints in front of him, opening the door, and Dan heads into the lounge, placing Nathan’s prone body onto a sofa.

There’s a gasp of ‘oh my god’ and Dan lifts his head, seeing Sarah standing in the doorframe, a guy behind her. Both their eyes are wide. Sarah starts suddenly and turns to the guy.

“Noah, get me the kit,” she orders. Then she’s beside Dan, looking over Nate. “Is there an exit wound?” The girl glances at Dan and the vampire shakes his head.

Noah runs back, handing a box to Sarah and then taking a few steps back. He looks sick. Clearly, not used to blood. Dan’s not a fan anymore either.

The vampire looks away as Sarah gets the necessary tools out to extract the bullet. His eyes lock with Reina’s who looks beyond exhausted. He supposes, he does too.

Sarah tells him to remove his hands and Dan does so, stepping back, staring at his red fingers. There’s cloth ripping and then Sarah gets the surgical pliers into Nate’s body.

“He’s lost too much blood,” she whispers, eyes watering, but she keeps looking for the bullet.

Dan swallows down, scrunching up his nose. It’s one thing watching someone being ripped apart and a whole another thing watching someone rummage around in a wound. Both are disgusting. Somehow the rummaging is more so.

“Just get the bullet out,” Dan grits his teeth. “My blood will heal him.”

The girl glances at him briefly and then nods. It’s over pretty quickly then. The bullet is extracted and Dan skims his fangs across his palm, blood pooling. He’s so sick of blood. The vampire puts his hand against Nathan’s mouth, tipping his head back, making his drink the liquid.

They all stand back and watch how the wound closes up and colour returns to Nate’s features. Dan can hear his heartbeat picking up and the human breathes in deeper. A sigh escapes past Dan’s lips and he collapses onto a nearby chair.

“That was a close call,” Nathan groans out, blinking into consciousness.

“Don’t do that again,” Sarah frowns and hits his shoulder. Gently, of course.

The human laughs lightly and lifts up on his elbow.

“How am I not dead?” He looks around the room.

“Vampire blood,” Dan runs his red fingers through his wet hair, not even caring, there’s blood everywhere anyway, “it has healing abilities.”

“Wow, you saved my life,” Nate lifts an eyebrow and then smirks. “Eric’s gonna flip,” he laughs harder now.

Dan only shakes his head. Those two have a weird relationship.

“How,” Noah begins, hugging himself, eyes darting from person to person. “How are the others?” He asks in a near whisper.

“You mean, how’s Luke?” Nathan sits up, scrunching his nose up a bit and grabbing at his side. “No idea,” he shrugs a shoulder. “He wasn’t with us. He’s chasing the other omega. The others…” He trails off and looks expectantly at Dan.

“We left them fighting the hunters,” the vampire mumbles. “Kate told us to get you home,” he admits and Reina nods in affirmation. Dan’s worried about her, she looks too subdued.

“How’d they find us though?” Nathan frowns. “Have they been tracking the omegas too?”

His questions are left unanswered as the front door is ripped open with a bang and a bunch of people drop inside. They’re all naked but no one seems to care as all of them fall onto Nathan, whimpering and trying to touch him in some way.

“You guys, I’m okay,” the human protests from under a pile of werewolves. Dan recognises Olivia’s red curls and Anne’s blonde hair in the mix of limbs.

Dan’s eyebrows lift and he glances around. Reina’s got the same look of mild astonishment on her face, Sarah’s smiling though, and Noah doesn’t look as lost anymore.

There’s a protesting growl to Nate’s statement and the human huffs.

“Eric, really, it’s okay,” he says. Dan’s just impressed that Nathan is able to distinguish the wolves by growls. “Dan saved my life.”

That earns Dan the attention of five naked werewolves who finally get off of the human. Anne has a brow lifted, Olivia and Marie are smirking at him and the last wolf, Dan supposes Luke, though he can’t really be sure as he mostly remembers only the wolves that greeted him, separates from the pack to hug his boyfriend.

“You did?” Eric asks, all judgemental and suspicious, eyes flashing red.

Dan’s trying not to look anyone below the neck. It proves to be more difficult than he thought as he doesn’t really want to meet the werewolves’ eyes but has no other options.

“He got shot by a hunter,” the vampire explains. “I gave him my blood. It’s got healing abilities.”

The Alpha seems to be struggling with himself, judging by the complicated dance his expressive eyebrows are making. The arm he has around Nathan’s waist tightens, pulling the human even closer to him, and he extends his right hand. Dan hesitates, glancing around. Nate smiles to him so the brunet steps forward, shaking Eric’s hand.

“Thank you,” the Alpha says sincerely and Dan’s shocked but he nods. “Who’s this?” Eric’s attention diverts to Reina.

The witch pulls up to her full height. Which is not much at all. It’s actually hilarious how short she is.

“Reina,” the girl says. “The witch that got rid of wolfsbane in the water for you. And who would very much appreciate if you people got dressed.”

Her words get a laugh out of a couple werewolves but they don’t seem fazed by their own nudity. Neither are Sarah and Nathan, only Noah is clinging to his boyfriend hiding his face in the wolf’s shoulder as the werewolf breathes in his scent. Dan wants to roll his eyes. _Werewolves_.

Once everyone’s got at least jeans on, Nathan recounts the victory over the two omegas and how the hunters showed up. Dan adds that the hunters used tranquilisers of some sort and most probably are trying to capture the wolves. This sends a grumble of worry through the pack until Eric lifts a hand.

The other half of the pack couldn’t find the last omega; it was raining too heavily, there was no way they could track him. And they got back around as soon as they felt Nathan nearly dying. They didn’t see any hunters though.

The rain has stopped by the time everyone’s been brought in the loop. Dawn is breaking, overcast and dreary. Fog lingers over the grass, hiding the sharp blades in tufts of grey.

Dan glances around the room. Never in a million years did he think he’d be comfortable dozing off, listening to werewolves discuss strategies and plans. Reina’s not faring better than him.

The witch sits crammed next to him on the armchair, her head resting on Dan’s shoulder, legs close to her chest. She’s breathing deep and shallow, and Dan wonders when the last time she slept was. He knows she uses magic to keep herself awake at all times of day, fearing that Natalie will pop up out of nowhere and drag her back to the coven. But she’s helping Dan nevertheless. The vampire will have to find a really good way to thank her for this.

The werewolves are drowsy too. The adrenalin has long gone, and they haven’t had a good night’s rest in days, as far as Dan knows. But they’re not letting themselves relax while half their pack is still missing. Dan wishes he was a part of such a close bond; his own coven is nothing like this. The wolves are family to each other and Dan yearns for that. Suddenly, he envies Phil.

That train of thought is quickly forgotten as the werewolves perk up and Dan himself can hear feet padding towards the house. Three naked people stumble through the door and soon everyone’s on their feet.

Kate, Ethan and Kevin are all bloody and dirty but nobody pays that any mind as the wolves are quickly made to lie down. Sarah and Nathan start treating their wounds. Most of those are wolfsbane induced and have weakened them greatly, the weres are struggling to keep conscious as Eric tries to get answers out of them.

“Where are Phil and Seth?” The Alpha asks, arms crossed as he stares at his brother.

Ethan breathes in deeply, frowning when Nate shoves something herbal and disgustingly smelling in his wound.

“The hunters,” he mumbles out. “They took them.”

There’s a rumble that goes through the pack, Eric’s growl is the loudest. Reina grabs Dan’s hand, lacing their fingers, and only then Dan realises that he gasped at the words and his heart is once again in overdrive.

“We tried to track them,” Kate says. She looks the worst of them all, too ashen and weak, and Dan can see how primly Sarah’s mouth is set as she works on the beta’s wounds. “The rain…” She trails off and closes her eyes. “It was too difficult.”

Eric only nods, jaw clenched tight. He kneels beside the sofa Kate’s resting on and starts carding through her dirty hair. The injured werewolf relaxes instantly; Alpha’s presence is magical, Dan thinks.

“We won’t be able to find them,” Nathan says. He’s frowning as he’s cleaning another one of Ethan’s wounds.

“We will,” Marie counters. She wipes at her eyes with an angry hand. “We just need to rest and then we’ll go out and hunt those bastards down.”

The other wolves don’t look as positive as she is, however. Dan knows how hard they’ve been trying to track the hunters for the past three weeks. And what did they get out of it? Absolutely nothing. The brunet thinks that even his info won’t help them now as Gordon saw Dan during the fight. The hunter won’t bring the wolves back to their place, he’ll hide them somewhere else. Somewhere difficult to find, Dan’s sure of it.

“You’re right about the resting,” Eric agrees with his beta, sighing.

The werewolves jump into action with practiced ease and Dan can only blink in confusion as mattresses and pillows appear in the middle of the lounge. He takes this as their queue to go, though. Tugging Reina up, he tries to avoid getting in the wolves’ way.

“Where are you going?” Olivia wonders and the pack stops.

Dan glances around, caught off guard as at least ten pairs of eyes bore into him.

“Home?” He suggests uncertainly.

“You’re staying here,” Nathan rolls his eyes. “The pack stays together.”

“I’m not pack,” he says, this time more sure of himself.

There are a few scoffs and Dan’s now lost.

“You’re Phil’s mate, and I’m pretty sure Eric accepted you after you saved _his_ mate,” Marie says, coming back into the room with more blankets. She throws them at him and Dan catches them on reflex.

The Alpha himself is not here to argue her point as he’s running perimeter checks but no one else corrects the beta. The vampire has no idea how he feels about that. Just hours ago he was pretty sure he got Phil thrown out of the pack and now he’s in the wolf den, being accepted, while his mate is missing.

“You and the pack by extension,” Nate nods at Reina, giving her a brief and tired smile, “are welcome to stay. We’ll need you after, anyway.”

Dan can only nod in acquiescence. He and Reina take one of the sofas, not really comfortable being part of the puppy pile happening in the middle of the room.

Eric returns shortly. He doesn’t react to Dan and Reina still being there and Dan thinks that’s a good sign. The werewolves just pile up on top of one another, seemingly not caring that three of the pack members are still naked and dirty. Seriously, _werewolves._

Listening to the pack settle in, werewolves breathing softly, Dan can’t help but think how this is a waste of time. They could be out there, scouring the woods, abandoned buildings, making progress. Logically he knows that they all are in a dire need of rest and they won’t be of much use to the kidnapped wolves, tired as they are. But a part of him is restless, wanting Phil back here with him, safe and sound.

Reina snuggles into his chest and someone grabs his hand that’s brushing on a mattress as it dangles off the edge of the couch. He glances down. Olivia’s fingers unconsciously slipped into his and Dan thinks it’s a pack comfort thing, sensing when another is distressed and offering physical reassurance.

Huh.

He’s a vampire who’s part of a werewolf pack. If only Phil were here so Dan could share this iconic moment with him.

“We’ll find them,” Olivia whispers. Apparently, not as asleep as Dan thought. “They’re pack, we’ll get them back,” she says with conviction and Dan has no choice but believe her. The beta squeezes his fingers and Dan sends her a grateful smile.

His distress soothed slightly, the vampire falls asleep, his guard completely down, in a den of wolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is always appreciated :3  
> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter involves torture and non-con elements!!! (just a warning)

The first thing that registers in his drowsy state is the smell of burnt flesh, sweat, and blood. Lots and lots of blood. The wolf whines. The air is also filled with the stench of fear, despair and pain, and it spikes anxiety in his chest.

The wolf slowly opens his eyes. It’s a difficult task, his eyelids argue against the command. Once he manages to crack an eye open, he’s met with darkness. The wolf shakes his head slightly to clear the fuzziness and lifts it up, craning his neck. He’s facing the wall and can’t really see the rest of the room at this angle.

He tries to stand up but his legs shake and his body refuses to comply. Shimmying around, the wolf manages to turn facing the other way. He’s still lying on his side and breathing heavily as pain spikes up in his neck, tingling down into his spine, and in his side that he’s lying on now.

A portion of the room is lit with two pools of light, bright and glaring, turned to a metal fence that stretches between two pillars. There are shackles dangling off the fence and wires are attached to it. Puddles of already stale blood stain the concrete floor beneath the fence. The wolf whimpers.

There’s a sound from beside him. A low whine that registers to him as belonging to one of his brothers. The wolf lifts his muzzle, staring into the darkness. He can make out the prone shape of his brother, his sandy fur dyed dark in several places. He reeks of fear and panic so the wolf huffs softly, signalling to the other that he’s not alone. His brother doesn’t respond but there’s a low growl from the other side of the wall. Another wolf, but not one he knows.

A door creaks open. More light enters the room. He scents humans, the evil ones.

A young female steps into the field of his vision, blocking his view of the fence. A male stands behind her, his arms crossed, a frown on his face. The female kneels on one knee in front of him, reaching for him and smirking. The wolf growls in warning, upper lip curling up and baring his fangs. She laughs.

“Feisty one,” she says. “Don’t worry, pooch, we’ll crack you.”

The female stands up and reaches around herself. There’s now a rod in her hand. It crackles blue, reminding the wolf of lightning, and makes him shrink back. She points the rod at him and with a smile on her face prods his side with it.

The wolf howls, pitiful and loud, echoing in the large dark room. The howl gets interrupted midway through as the pain makes him shift back to his human form. Phil’s grabbing his side, singed with probably a fuck-ton of electricity which still buzzes through his veins, and he’s moaning in pain as he clenches his eyes shut.

“What a fine specimen,” the girl says, her voice almost sounding sincere and amicable. “I would not mind having fun with it,” she giggles to herself and electricity courses through Phil’s body once again, nearly making him blackout.

Fuck, he hates hunters.

There’s a hand on his shoulder and Phil’s eyes fly open. He flashes his yellow eyes at the huntress, growling, but doesn’t manage much more since the pain is till preventing him from shifting even to beta form. The girl doesn’t even glance up at his face as she trails her fingers down his chest. Phil shudders at the unwelcome contact and grabs her arm. For that he receives another electrical shock that has him writhing on the floor, breath knocked out of him.

“Stop sexually harassing the mutt,” the guy sighs. “Make the other one shift back too.”

Phil wants to stop them. He can’t let anything happen to Seth. But his muscles are not working and he only winces as the younger wolf howls, shifting back and panting.

“Ooh, I might like this one more,” the girl laughs. “It looks like it could keep up with me if you know what I mean,” she cackles once again.

Phil opens his eyes, watching helplessly as the woman reaches out to touch Seth. The young werewolf snarls at her, eyes glinting gold.

“Touch me and I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth,” he sneers.

“Oh, they both might be challenging,” she says with obvious amusement in her tone. “I will very much enjoy this.”

She stands up, flicking the rod so it folds back and securing it behind her belt.

“We’ll see you soon, doggies. Be good boys,” she sends a smile their way and steps out of the room with the guy following behind.

Phil breathes harshly and tries to lean up on his hand. He manages to sit up and collapse against the wall. Blood is spilling over his fingers where he’s still clutching at his side. Looking down, he sees that his skin is nicked, not deeply but enough to warrant a dull ache, and it was probably induced by something coated in wolfsbane because it’s not healing.

He looks over at Seth who looks as dirty and bloody as Phil. The teen wolf is also leaning against the wall, taking in the surroundings. His eyes widen when he sees the fence, the shackles and electrical wires connected to it all, and he turns to Phil.

“That’s –” he gulps loudly, a panicked expression on his face.

“For torture,” Phil finishes, nodding. “Hunters love torturing with electricity,” he adds grimly, scowling at the fence.

“We have to get out of here,” Seth mumbles, licking over his chapped lips.

 _You think?_ , is what Phil wants to say scathingly but refrains from it. Being snarky wouldn’t help anyone in this situation, especially not a panicked werewolf.

“There are no windows,” Phil thinks aloud as he’s looking around. “The only doors are the ones they entered,” he glances at said doors. “Solid metal. We won’t be able to break through.”

He sighs then and thumps his head on the wall behind himself. There’s no way out. Fuck.

“Alright,” Seth mumbles. “Then we do a full shift, pounce on them when they come back, and get the hell out of this whole.”

Phil’s got his eyes closed when he answers, “Do you really think there are only the two of them? And we don’t know the layout of this place or even _where_ it is. We could be a hundred miles from home for all we know, and we’re exhausted. They’ll catch us before we get ten miles away.”

“Wow, way to be optimistic, dude,” Seth snorts derisively. “I thought that was kinda your thing.”

“My _thing_?” Phil glares at the younger beta, spitting out the words. “Let’s review what I have to be optimistic about. Maybe the fact that my mate is hated by my pack even though he’s done nothing wrong? Or that my Alpha hates me so much right now that he’s considering making me an omega? And what about the little detail where we got caught by hunters and are now sitting in their oh-so-awesome fucking torture chamber to be gutted for their amusement?!” His voice rises with every word and by the end of it he’s shouting at the other wolf, making him flinch back and cast his eyes down.

Phil huffs in annoyance and thumps his head against the wall once again. He stares at the black void where the ceiling should be and thinks that he’s a dick. Here he is, unloading all of his pent up anguish and anger on a beta that’s scared out of his mind and hoping for some reassurance. Phil should sort his priorities out.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, turning his head to look at Seth. The teen has his knees drawn up to his chest, arms around them. “It’s gonna be fine,” Phil lies. “We’ll get out of here. Or the pack will find us.”

Seth only nods and wipes at his cheek with a dirty hand, snuffling. Fuck, he made the kid cry. _What is wrong with me?_ Phil wonders, groaning at himself. He scoots closer to the other werewolf, cringing when his bare ass slides down the cold concrete. Seriously, sometimes being a werewolf sucks. Phil puts a hand on the nape of Seth’s neck, rubbing soothingly. The boy relaxes slightly at the physical comfort, and Phil counts it as a win.

***

After an undetermined amount of time, the hunters return. This time it’s four guys and they use long-range Tasers against the wolves to weaken them. Phil’s muscles turn useless as electricity runs through his body and his brain turns to mush. The hunters don’t have any problems hanging him on the fence.

When Phil’s brain clears, he feels wolfsbane burning his wrists and ankles where shackles wrap around, making him starfish, junk on full display. Phil would be worried about his naked status if not for the crippling fear that he’s about to get tortured. Turning his head to the side, he sees Seth in a similar position next to him on the metal fence. This so won’t go well.

“Hello, cutie,” the girl from before murmurs too close to Phil for the were’s liking.

The beta turns his scowl to her. In the light he can see her more clearly. She seems to be in her mid-twenties. She’s got auburn hair and spectacular green eyes, her fair skin is dusted with light freckles. Phil would think she’s gorgeous if she weren’t a _sadistic murderous psycho_.

He growls in her face. She just laughs and pats his cheek. Her eyes trail down his body and Phil wants to throw up just thinking that she might touch him. His inner wolf agrees with him and snarls in his head. Only their mate is allowed to touch them in that kind of way.

“You’re a cute one,” she muses, tilting her head to the side.

Her index finger slides over his jawline, down his neck. Phil protests with a snarl and a ‘Get your fucking hands off of me!’ but she ignores it all.

She splays her hand over his breastbone where a deep rumbling resounds, warning her to back the fuck off. The girl only hums. Her hand moves lower and Phil strains against the cuffs, managing to shift his teeth into fangs and snapping at her.

“Don’t tell me you’re gay?” She faux gasps, her green eyes wide. “Can you mongrels even be gay?” Her fingers trail lower, to Phil’s abdomen, and his growling intensifies. “Oh, come on, you must enjoy this on some level,” she smirks.

The huntress leans her head down, placing a few kisses over his erratically beating heart. She licks up a stripe over his neck, effectively scent-marking him, and making his wolf gag at the notion. He wants no part of this girl on himself.

“You wolves do grow up nice,” she sighs wistfully, her fingers skimming over Phil’s crotch. The werewolf swallows down, scrunching up his nose, and gritting his teeth. “Hmm, must be gay,” she decides, eyes cast down in between his legs.

She then turns away, walking over to a metal table just in front of Seth. That wasn’t there before. How long was Phil out? Better yet, how long have they been here?

“The other mongrels from your pack confused even the most experienced hunters,” she says conversationally. “We couldn’t track them back to your little wolf den. It doesn’t matter, though. We have it narrowed down and basically know where you’re hiding.”

The girl picks up a scalpel, twirling it in her hand, making it glint in the too bright lights.

“I wanted to be a surgeon,” she says, turning back to them. “But I got into this family business so it never came to be,” she shrugs and them smirks devilishly. “Sorry if my technique is not that refined.”

She returns to Phil and places the scalpel against his ribs. The werewolf breathes in and flinches just slightly when she slices him open. It reminds him of Dan the night before (or whenever that spell happened; Phil has no idea what day it is), and suddenly he’s worried about his mate’s well-being. He prays to every deity known to man to keep at least his mate safe.

“Oh, you’re playing it tough, huh?” The girl wonders and digs the blade in deeper.

Phil grunts and clenches his teeth. His abdominal muscles are shaking with the exertion and she skims her fingers over them. Violated like that once again, he growls. The girl lifts an eyebrow at him but doesn’t stop cutting his flesh. The slashes close up pretty quickly, not even leaving a scar.

She keeps it up for a good half hour, making bloody drawings on his skin, cutting over and over again at the same spot as soon as it heals. Phil breathes through it, thoughts about Dan whirring in his head, keeping him from thinking about the pain too much. He grabs hold of any memory he has of Dan: his dimpled smile, mussed hair, how he chews on something when he’s studying, their first kiss, his fingers tapping a nervous rhythm, his hyena laugh. There’s also the thrum of the pack bonds at the back of his head, soothing and calming. It all makes this situation a bit more bearable.

“What do you want from us?” Seth snarls out suddenly through clenched teeth. Phil doesn’t know if he should be happy the other wolf woke up or worried about what the huntress will subject the younger one to.

The girl leans away from Phil and the beta hangs his head, puffing in short raspy breaths, trying to remember how Dan’s voice sounds.

“Hmm,” she turns her eyes upwards as if thinking her answer over. The blade in her hand is dripping red onto the concrete. “Nothing really,” she shrugs. “We already know what we need about your pack so don’t worry, no questioning,” she flashes a smile, “you won’t betray your precious Alpha. This,” she motions between them with the scalpel, “is mostly for fun.”

A cold shiver runs down Phil’s spine. If she’s really doing this all ‘for fun’ then there’s no way they’re getting out of this alive. The hunters could’ve used them as bargaining chips to get Eric but if they know all they need…then Phil and Seth are useless, just for her to play with. He suddenly wants to throw up.

The girl is now advancing towards Seth, looking him up and down, scalpel at the ready.

“Don’t touch him,” Phil growls, yanking at his shackles.

“Protective, aren’t we?” The girl grins at him.

She places the tip of the blade in the centre of Seth’s chest but doesn’t do any damage as the door opens wide. The guy from before strides in, not even glancing at the wolves.

“The witch says the pack have a witch of their own,” he tells the girl. “The other witch is trying a locator spell or some shit.”

The girl frowns, her green eyes narrowing.

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” She snipes.

“The fuck do I know,” the guy scoffs. “He told me to tell you, that’s all I know.”

The girl groans. She then goes to the table and deposits her scalpel.

“Stay, doggies,” she grins at Phil and Seth, and follows the guy out of the room.

When the door closes, Seth rattles his shackles loudly, swearing under his breath. Phil wants to tell him that it’s futile, that the chains are infused with wolfsbane that’s slowly poisoning their bodies and making it impossible to break the restraints. But he doesn’t. Let the record show that Phil’s very graciously not killing the last remnants of hope in frustrated young werewolves.

***

The torture session resumes faster than Phil would have liked. The girl returns happy enough though, so Phil thinks that Reina didn’t succeed with the locator spell. That does not bode well for them.

This time the huntress uses electricity and both, Phil and Seth, suffer the same. At first they manage not to let out any noise of discomfort but by the fifth time the electricity courses through all the links of the metal fence and correspondingly through every inch of their bodies, they’re howling. Pathetically, though. It’s difficult to full on howl in human form when you’re bathing, drowning really, in pain.

Luckily for the wolves, the girl has other matters to attend to and they’re left alone after an hour or so. Phil can hear the whimpering coming from Seth, and he grits his teeth as he can’t even reach over and comfort the teen. His own breathing is ragged and his heart is beating too quickly and too painfully. Actually, everything’s painful. Even blinking sends miniscule bursts of pain into his eyes.

He thinks he blacks out for a second or something because the next thing he knows he’s groaning as his head lolls back, hitting the fence, and there’s a guy standing in front of him. This one Phil hasn’t seen before. He’s got a bald head and grey eyes that bore into Phil, making him want to squirm.

The guy places a large hand in the centre of Phil’s chest. Not this again. For a group who loathe werewolves, hunters sure do like to grope them. But the guy’s hand doesn’t slide to inappropriate places. He just breathes in, closes his eyes, and chants something.

Heat rises under Phil’s breastbone and the wolf fidgets. It becomes hard to breathe as the heat scorches his insides. Phil tells the guy to stop and back off but, of course, no one listens to him. Then his heart restricts, skipping a beat, and Phil slumps, drained, only the chains keeping him upright. He notes that Seth is in a similar state.

“There,” the bald guy says to their torturer. “Now the pack won’t be able to even feel them.”

“Wha-what did you d-do?” Phil rasps out, glaring at the guy but clearly not effectively as the guy doesn’t react in any way.

“Muted your connection to the pack,” the guy answers, shrugging, and walks off.

Phil’s fuzzy brain struggles to piece it together but it finally comes to him that the guy is the witch the hunters mentioned before. And if the hunters have a witch it’s no wonder the pack couldn’t find their scent; witches have spells to mask those.

What Phil doesn’t get is why the witch didn’t just use a locator spell, like Reina tried to, and found out where Eric lives that way. What’s with the need for games and inducing panic in the pack ranks? Or maybe, as the girl said, they just find it fun? Either way, it doesn’t bode well for the pack.

***

The torturing becomes a pattern. The girl – during one of the sessions she says her name is Claire – loves to use knives, Phil notices. Or any sharp objects really. She slices them up with daggers, switchblades, arrow heads, and whatever else that can draw blood out of them.

After that she cleans them up with damp cold rags. This part makes Phil growl every time as Claire is prone to skim her fingers over inappropriate places. Seth flashes his yellow eyes at her and bares his blunt human teeth too but nothing affects the huntress. On the contrary, she seems to like their behaviour.

She leaves them alone for a while to recuperate and heal a bit. Probably to stew in their own misery and the hopelessness of their situation. So not only physical but also mental torture. Brilliant. Phil loves his life.

During those hours, Seth usually babbles about some nonsense or other. Phil responds as enthusiastically as he can manage, saying that the pack will definitely find them, willing himself and Seth to believe it. But it doesn’t take much for him to doze off without so much as a thought and leave Seth on his own.

The torturing continues with electricity. Claire claps her hands in glee as they writhe on the fence, chests heaving, hearts nearly exploding. Sometimes she leaves the current coursing until the next session, nothing too dramatic, just so they’d feel it and wouldn’t be able to shift.

And then the cycle repeats. Phil has no idea if one cycle means one day or if the huntress subjects them to two or more cycles a day. All he knows is that he very much wants to rip her throat out. He and Seth spend a good portion of their time exchanging ideas of how they’re going to slaughter the hunters. Phil has to admit that the kid has a morbid talent when it comes to thinking up of ways to kill hunters.

There are instances when she brings around spectators. The other hunters also rejoice at their pain, betting on which of them will start howling first when they amp up the current. ‘Demeaning’ is one way to sum up those visits. Phil, personally, likes ‘fucked up’ more, it feels more appropriate for the situation.

***

This time the witch is back with several hunters. Claire is looking particularly enthusiastic today, her smile wider than ever. Phil’s wolf rages at the sight of her and he calms it down with thoughts of her lifeless body on the concrete floor, with her throat ripped out and bleeding. It’s a satisfying image. If it makes Phil a bad person, he doesn’t even care; he’s got nothing else good going for him except those visuals.

The other hunters lead a werewolf in beta shift with themselves. He’s got a metal collar around his neck with two chains connecting to it. The hunters are holding onto the chains as the werewolf thrashes about. His eyes change colour intermittently, flashing electric blue and his normal brown ones, there’s some black goop oozing out of his jaws and dripping down his bare chest. He looks frenzied and out of his mind. Phil thinks the other werewolf looks familiar but his frazzled brain can’t make the necessary connection.

“This beauty,” Claire begins, “has been created with the help of our lovely witch Morrison,” she waves at the bald guy. “A few days of torture, another few days of injecting them with Morrison’s special shots, and voila,” she smirks at the frantic werewolf. “I think you’re ready for your first injections,” the huntress turns back to Phil and Seth.

Morrison, during her speech, gets the syringes ready. There’s black goop, the same as is dribbling down the frenzied werewolf’s chin, in the tube of the syringe. The witch approaches Seth first. The young beta struggles and tries to squirm away, growling and flashing his eyes, but Claire lets a current of electricity run through the fence and soon the werewolf is placated enough for Morrison to inject him.

Phil doesn’t risk getting Seth electrocuted another time and growls only minimally when the witch comes near him. He jabs Phil in the neck, as he did to Seth, and fire spreads through Phil’s veins, making him whine in pain. Idly, the werewolf wonders if he’ll become immune to pain after this whole ordeal. He’s quite sure that his tolerance level has definitely been elevated.

“What do you get out of this?” Phil rasps out; his throat is burning up.

“Haven’t you gathered yet?” Claire wonders, all mock innocence.

“I think it’s a bit slow,” one of the other hunters smirks at Phil. But the wolf is already used to their insults and dog jokes so he doesn’t even react.

“What we get out of this,” the huntress turns her attention to Phil, “is a few easily manipulated attack dogs. By the end of this you both will murder your pack mates and not even blink an eye,” she informs them with a pleasant smile.

“You’re fucking crazy,” Seth spits out. “We won’t harm our pack.”

“Tell that to the pack of that one,” she points to the wolf who’s still growling lowly and thrashing about. “Though to be fair,” Claire muses, tapping her chin with her index finger, eyes cast upwards, “you killed the last of his pack.”

And then it clicks to Phil.

“Th-the omegas,” he says, eyes wide. “You made them into this,” he nods his chin at the werewolf on a leash. “And then you made us chase them. Why?”

“We love a good hunt,” Claire smiles openly, almost warmly. “We let the omegas draw the werewolf pack out, we get familiar with their ranks, how they work together, and so on. Then there’s a bit of teasing and playing around,” her smirk turns colder, more like a predator’s. “Lastly, we take a few of their pack, improve upon them, and then let them kill their pack mates for us. Well, at least the ones that we haven’t managed to kill during the playing around,” she laughs lightly.

Phil gapes at her in pure horror but no one so much as says a word about it.

“I guess, you’re the lucky ones,” Claire tells them, eyes skimming over their naked bodies. “You won’t die just yet.”

“How many packs have you destroyed this way?” Phil asks. How has no one heard of this tactic before? The whole community of werewolves should be buzzing with news about this, informing one another about the danger.

The huntress only hums, considering.

“Two in Europe,” she answers. “Another one in Canada and one here, on the East coast. We’re not stupid, darling,” she smiles at him. “We don’t let the word spread.”

Phil thinks he’s going to be sick. He already threw up during one of the torture sessions and it was not a pleasant experience as there was nothing but bile in his stomach that ate away at his throat.

But four packs, just wiped out, and no one got a whiff of anything. So many werewolf lives lost. His inner wolf mourns the loss of their brethren. And now it’s time for their pack. Phil wants to whimper and whine but reins himself in; it wouldn’t do in such company.

“Now,” Claire claps her hands. “We’ll let you rest and let the shots take. See you later, puppies,” she calls over her shoulder as she’s already walking away.

The witch and the hunters with the omega leave after her. Then there’s only Seth and him and thoughts whirring in Phil’s mind.

“We have to do something,” Seth whispers, desperate.

Yeah, that’s about right. If only either of them _could_ do anything. They’re physically restrained and drained, and the connection to their pack is nearly non-existent. There’s nothing to do. And Phil’s not one to let negative thoughts consume him (well, most of the time; torture notwithstanding) but they’re fucked. Royally so.


	14. Chapter 14

Dan wakes up as he usually does: resurfacing from suffocating darkness, overwhelming fear constricting his chest, making him gasp, his heart lurching into overdrive as it had stopped just moments ago. What is unusual about this waking up is that a few worried faces are staring down at him from all around the sofa he’s lying on.

“What?..” The vampire blinks sluggishly, drawing in deep breaths and trying to control the rapid beating of his heart.

“Your heart stopped,” Olivia says, concerned eyes roaming all over his body. Her red curls are still tousled from sleep, stray locks weaving around her face.

“Yeah,” Dan draws out the word. He notices that he’s alone on the couch and wonders where Reina went off to. “That’s normal for a vampire,” he lifts his eyes up again.

Anne scoffs and moves away, shouting a ‘he’s fine’ to the rest of the house. Kate frowns but also pushes off the back of the couch. Olivia narrows her eyes at him, more specifically at his chest as if trying to make sure his heart is still beating. Luke, of all werewolves, is also crowded around the sofa, but he just nods and wanders off. Dan has no idea what to make of any of this.

“Where’s Reina?” He asks, sitting up and throwing the blanket off of himself.

There’s light filtering through the windows but it’s muted, signalling to Dan that the sky is overcast and grey. He glances behind himself, and sure enough there’s not a sun ray peeking through the clouds. At least he’ll be able to walk around outside if needed.

“In the kitchen with the others,” Olivia answers him. She’s still hovering around and the brunet doesn’t know if she’s in protective mode because Dan is Phil’s ma– and nope, he’s not using that again, – if he’s Phil’s _boyfriend_ or if she’s genuinely worried about him.

The vampire hums, signalling that he heard her, and stands up. Olivia leads him to the kitchen where it’s kind of chaotic but organised at the same time.

Nathan and Eric work in tandem, cooking everyone breakfast, twirling around each other to grab the products they need, handing each other utensils without being asked. Dan briefly wonders if that’s their bond helping them work so seamlessly together and, if it is, whether he and Phil will one day be like that.

Kevin is giving out plates with food for the rest of the pack and Ethan is filling up glasses with various drinks. They both seem to know what each of the wolves likes best as the plates and glasses travel to certain people.

The others are milling about, conversing and laughing. Reina’s sitting on a windowsill seat, chatting with Sarah. They’re both eating scrambled eggs and Dan feels his mouth filling with saliva and his stomach gurgling; he hasn’t eaten in what feels like forever.

Soon enough Dan finds himself with a plate of pancakes sitting in front of him on the breakfast bar. Olivia is sitting to his left and Nathan and Eric in front of him. The vampire is still anxious about being near the Alpha, what with all the threatening and growling that happened just last night, but he’s powering through. At least Eric is not glaring at him. It probably helps that Nathan’s all chirpy and chatty, a living proof that Dan’s useful to the pack.

“So what’s the plan for today?” The brunet wonders cautiously. He doesn’t want to step over any werewolfy boundaries or some pack hierarchy bullshit but he guesses it’ll all be trial and error anyway.

“The wolves will be scouring the woods,” Nathan replies to him around a mouthful of bacon. “I’m gonna contact a few people I know, see if there was any movement between states last night.”

“What kind of movement?” Dan furrows his brows. How does that have anything to do with getting Phil back?

“The hunters won’t be keeping Phil and Seth close by,” Eric is the one to answer him. He still doesn’t look too happy about talking to Dan or being close to him but he definitely is trying. Maybe Nate had a talk with him, Dan muses.

“I’d be able to feel it if they were,” the Alpha continues. “We’re thinking they moved them further away, maybe into another state. And maybe they needed help or someone noticed something,” he shrugs. “It’s worth a shot.”

Nathan nods along in agreement, shovelling food into his mouth. Reina bounds up to them then. She looks more alert and healthy than yesterday, Dan’s happy to note.

“I could try a locator spell,” she says, glancing at the Alpha. The witch doesn’t look as confident and laid-back as she usually is but that’s probably because she’s in a house full of werewolves. “It’ll take some time to set up and it’s not guaranteed to work but,” she shrugs a shoulder and leans her elbows on the counter.

Eric looks her up and down, eyes flashing red briefly. Dan tenses up. If the Alpha tries anything, Dan’s going to get his ass kicked by defending Reina. But Olivia puts a hand on his knee, nonchalant, as if on instinct, and Dan notices that Eric was just evaluating the witch.

“Alright,” the Alpha agrees, though his mouth is set primly. Clearly, he doesn’t really trust magic. Or maybe it’s just because Reina is Dan’s friend.

“Great,” Reina beams at him then turns to Dan. “Finish your breakfast,” she orders in a more Reina like fashion, “you’re gonna help me set up.”

Dan only sighs, resigned to his fate, and does as he’s told.

The cleaning after breakfast seems to be quite the chore and Dan’s glad he’s got something better to do than stay behind and help. Luke and Olivia groan loudly as Eric assigns them the clean-up, and Dan might have smirked just a little at the domesticity. He’s missed little things like that.

Before they leave, however, Dan catches a shower and someone leaves him clothes on the bathroom counter to change into instead of his muddy ones. The shirt smells kind of like Phil but there’s also someone else’s scent on it, and Dan supposes that the pack shares even clothes. He doesn’t mind it much, scenting is not particularly a significant deal for vampires.

But it clearly is for werewolves. As Dan moves through the house in search of Reina, every wolf he meets skims their fingers over his shoulder or arm or back. It seems like they’re doing it almost subconsciously, and it kinda freaks Dan out a little bit.

He finally finds Reina in the lounge, helping to get the mess sorted there.

“You ready?” The vampire asks.

“Yep,” she tosses the pillow she’s been holding to Kevin and walks over to him.

As they turn to head to the front door, they hear Eric saying, “Wait.”

The Alpha is climbing down the stairs, eyes firmly on Dan.

“Anne, Ethan,” Eric calls out and the wolves appear instantly. “Go with Dan and Reina,” is all he says but the wolves don’t even protest. Much. Ethan might have scrunched up his nose but didn’t say a word.

Dan only lifts an eyebrow. At first he’s touched that the Alpha had thought about sending some wolves with them for safety reasons, however, as he’s climbing down the porch steps, he thinks it might be because Eric doesn’t trust Dan or Reina so Anne and Ethan are there to make sure the vampire and the witch behave. Yeah, Dan’s totally going with idea number two.

***

Anne and Ethan turn out to not be much fun. The Alpha’s brother scowls all the way to Dan’s loft, quiet as a church mouse, and the female werewolf stares at Dan as if she’s going to figure out his whole life story by doing it long enough. Uncomfortable is an understatement for how it makes Dan feel; her intense gaze sends bugs crawling along Dan’s skin.

Reina’s no help on that front. Instead of distracting Anne from dissecting Dan with her eyes, the witch scrolls through her phone, having told Dan beforehand that she’s looking up what exactly they’ll need.

The drive turns to the longest half hour in Dan’s life.

“I have half the necessary stuff,” Reina informs the car.

“Where will we get the other half?” Dan asks, turning onto his street and parking the vehicle.

“There’s a magic shop in the next town over,” the witch responds.

They all get out of the car and head inside the building.

“Road trip, yay,” Dan sighs, without much enthusiasm. He’s still not over the last one.

“It’s a forty minute drive,” Reina rolls her eyes. “You’ll survive. Especially if it helps us get your boyfriend back,” she smirks at him.

Dan just stops on the stairs, looking skyward and asking the heavens for strength to endure the annoying brat that is Reina.

“Move,” Ethan shoves at his shoulder. And quite hard, might Dan add.

The vampire purses his lips, rubbing at the spot, but moves nonetheless. He’s, of course, the first one to turn the corner in the corridor, leading to his flat, when Anne stops him with a hand on his upper arm.

“Are there other vampires living with you?” She whispers, eyes flashing gold, claws digging into Dan’s skin.

“Wha-,” but Dan doesn’t even finish the word as he hears it too. If he concentrates enough, he can hear the sluggish thumping of a vampire’s heart on his floor and can smell a faint scent of someone he already knows. “Natalie,” the brunet murmurs and turns to look down at Reina.

The witch swallows nervously but nods towards the door.

“The vampire there,” Dan addresses the wolves, “she’s my creator. I have no idea what she’s doing here though,” he stresses, needing the weres to believe him.

Anne sets her jaw and Ethan narrows his eyes at him. The female beta motions to the door.

They walk the remaining few steps to Dan’s flat and the vampire walks in first. Natalie’s lounging on his ruined sofa, all poise and grace as she turns to look at them. She doesn’t seem surprised to see the werewolves so either Gordon told her he saw Dan with the pack last night or she overheard their previous brief conversation. Or it could very well be both. However, her eyes widen minutely at seeing Reina and she abruptly stands up, clearly without meaning to as her usual elegance is not present in that movement.

“Daniel,” Natalie greets, her voice ice cold. “You didn’t tell me our dear Reina was in town,” she crosses her arms, eyes boring into the young witch.

“Slipped my mind,” Dan shrugs a shoulder. “Go get what you need,” he tells Reina who’s standing, rooted to the spot, trembling slightly at the sight of her former tormentor.

The brunet thinks he’ll have to snap Reina out of her trance but she nods her head quick enough. The witch squares her shoulders, glares at Natalie, and strides off to the second floor.

“It must’ve also slipped your mind to tell me you got lapdogs,” the vampire smiles sweetly at the two werewolves behind Dan.

The betas growl at the insult and Ethan steps forward. Dan takes a risk, extending his arm to block the wolf’s path, not wanting a fight to break out. Surprisingly, Ethan halts.

“What do you want? I don’t have time,” Dan tells Natalie.

“You don’t have time?” His creator parrots back, irritated. “Might I remind you that you have an obligation to your coven that you have not yet fulfilled,” she’s back at controlling her voice which is now silky smooth. “And Gordon eagerly awaits news from you,” she shoots a look at the wolves.

And fuck it, Dan thinks. This is all going to shit either way, he might as well tell Natalie about the unbinding ritual that happened last night. It’s not like he’ll be able to spy for the werewolves anyway.

“I’m done being a part of your coven,” he says as evenly as he can manage. “And I’m even more done with following your orders.”

“Not this again,” Natalie sighs, shaking her head like she’s disappointed in him. Which, fair, there were plenty of times when Dan declared distancing himself from the coven but came running back after a week of starvation.

“Daniel,” his creator says in that bone chilling tone of commands. Just a night ago this made Dan’s muscles tremble with the need to obey and his guts churn with how violating it all was. But now there’s nothing. “Kill the werewolves.”

Dan lifts an eyebrow at Natalie as if to say ‘really?’ and crosses his arms. Anne and Ethan step back from him and look at him guardedly, clearly having recognised the commanding tone. Natalie’s jaw clenches when Dan doesn’t jump to do her biding.

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you last night,” the brunet glances at the wolves. “Reina found a spell to unbind me from Natalie so I’m officially a free vampire,” he sends a grin his creator’s way, feeling a lot more confident than a moment ago.

“You did what?” Natalie grits out through her teeth, her eyes bleed black for a second.

“Destroyed our bond,” Dan answers simply. He rolls away a sleeve of the borrowed shirt, showing off the scar that goes down his arm, splits into five on his wrist and continues over his palm to the tips of his fingers.

“You couldn’t have,” the vampire shakes her head. “I would’ve felt it.”

“I modified it,” Reina appears, climbing down the winding stairs. “I’m awesome that way,” she flashes a smile but it’s forced at best.

Natalie full on growls at her, and Dan thinks he’s never seen her lose her cool before. It’s oddly exhilarating. Probably because he caused it.

“Now,” Dan draws Natalie’s attention back to himself. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to never see your face again,” he motions to the door. The betas move aside so they wouldn’t be in Natalie’s path to get the fuck out of Dan’s home.

His creator lifts up her chin and stalks forward to him.

“You betrayed your coven for them?” She glares at the werewolves. “Have you lost your mind?” Her eyes turn black and her teeth sharpen. She’s totally losing control, and it’s more satisfying to Dan than anything else ever was.

“It was never _my_ coven,” Dan scowls. “All you ever were for me was a bunch of vampires who ordered me around. Did you really think I _liked_ being with you?” He asks, incredulous. Is she that delusional?

Natalie completely ignores his question and snarls out, “You ruined our coven. The hunters will kill us because of you.”

“Then maybe you should run while you still can,” Dan suggests oh so graciously.

Her face contorts into a grimace as she steps away from him, moving out of his personal space.

“You will –” she starts saying but Dan interrupts her.

“Pay for this,” he rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, less threatening, more running from hunters,” he waves a dismissive hand.

Natalie growls once more but is gone after a second.

A huge grin spreads out on Dan’s face and he thinks he’s never felt this happy in his life. Finally. Finally, he’s free from Natalie, and he’s taking control of his own life. It feels heady.

“That was impressive,” Anne smirks at him, thumping his shoulder lightly.

“I agree,” Reina pipes up, approaching them. “She lost her control. It was awesome, dude,” the witch also beams.

Dan laughs. A sort of calmness and lightness settles over him. It’s a good feeling.

***

Three and a half hours later, when the light is slowly being leached out of the world and the white outline of the crescent moon becomes more prominent, Dan’s finally parking Phil’s car in front of the werewolves’ den. The house seems silent even though lights shine in nearly all the windows but there’s no movement.

Anne and Ethan don’t even wait for the vampire and the witch, nearly running into the house as soon as the engine is off. Weirdos. Dan hangs back with Reina, thinking she might need help with the supplies. However, for all the time they spent driving around, the witch only has a bag filled with herbs and a few bowls, which Dan takes from her.

The brunet leaves his friend and her witchy things in the kitchen and goes in search of the Alpha. Dan thinks that as a kind-of-sort-of-maybe member of the pack he should report what happened in his loft to Eric. He’d rather keep it to himself since it doesn’t really impact the pack much but his relationship with the Alpha is shaky at best so maybe sharing stuff will earn Dan some brownie points or something. It’s not like Dan expects them to be BFFs; he’d be cool with Eric not sending him death glares, is all.

The rest of the pack is huddled close in the lounge. All the werewolves are touching each other in some way. The humans are also sitting on the ground with them but are not in the midst of things; not risking being crushed by werewolf strength, Dan supposes.

Kevin helpfully grunts and points to a wall which is separating the lounge from the first floor hall, when Dan asks where Eric might be. The vampire only thanks, not wanting to push for specifics of what the hell is going on, and walks away. He passes a couple closed doors and stops in front of the office where they talked yesterday. This time the door is ajar and Dan pushes at it lightly.

The Alpha is sitting on the edge of the desk, his forehead pressed against Nathan’s shoulder, fingers crumpling the human’s shirt. Nate is carding through his hair, humming some tune. It looks too intimate and Dan wants to bolt but Eric huffs and lifts his head, red eyes boring into the vampire.

“What do you want?” He asks gruffly, brows furrowing.

“Status report, I guess,” Dan tries to crack a smile. It doesn’t work with the Alpha but Nathan’s lips quirk upwards.

“What happened?” The human questions in a more friendly way.

“Um,” Dan’s eyes dart between them not sure which one to address. He so sucks at this pack thing. “My creator was back at my loft,” he says cautiously, eyes settling on Eric; he’s the Alpha after all. “Nothing happened,” the vampire lifts his hands up quickly as Eric’s canines elongate in warning.

“I guess, she was there cos the hunters saw me last night in the woods with you and told her or something. But I told her to get out and that I’m no longer part of her coven so she stormed out,” Eric lifts an eyebrow at that.

“She won’t do anything,” Dan promises. “She’s more worried that the hunters will now go after the coven cos I’m not cooperating anymore. They’ll all be gone by sunrise,” he assures.

The Alpha regards him with cold eyes, clenching his jaw and wincing slightly for some reason. He looks like he’s in pain. Could it be that separation from the pack affects the wolves physically? Come to think of it, Ethan and Anne had too been acting strange the past twenty minutes of the trip.

“And how exactly did she not compel you to just go with her?” Eric grits out, gripping at Nathan’s sides tighter.

“Would you just mute it, for god’s sake,” Nate rolls his eyes. “It’s not helping anyone and it’s just spreading through the pack.”

Dan is so missing something here. His curiosity is spiked high and he wants to find out what’s going on but doesn’t dare ask. Instead, he answers Eric’s question.

“Reina did an unbinding spell last night,” the brunet explains. “Totally forgot to tell you with all the things happening,” Dan rubs at his neck, biting his lip. “But now I’m free of my coven.”

“That’s great news,” Nathan smiles at him softly. “My plan about you spying for us flew right out the window, of course, but good for you.”

Dan grins back.

“Sorry,” he says. “Though I guess, it became useless anyway when Gordon saw me with you.”

“Who’s Gordon?” The Alpha asks. Claws are protruding out of his fingertips and Dan’s suddenly worried for Nathan’s safety. The human, however, looks unfazed.

“One of the hunters,” the vampire replies. “He questioned me before.” And as Eric barely keeps his control, nearly shifting into beta form, Dan’s curiosity gets the best of him. “Like, I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” he begins, watching how harshly the Alpha is breathing, “but what’s up with that?” He motions towards where Eric and Nathan are standing.

“The pack bonds,” Nate answers him. “The hunters are probably torturing Phil and Seth. Eric as the Alpha can feel it and in turn so can the rest of the pack. The idiot doesn’t want to cut them off though,” the human glares at his mate, “and insists on suffering with his betas.”

Suddenly, there’s ringing in Dan’s ears. He swallows thickly but the nausea that overcame him doesn’t dissipate.

“They’re _torturing_ Phil?” He manages to ask.

Oh, fuck fuck fuck fuck _fuck_! Dan’s so tearing someone apart for that. He knows that hunters are messed up but torture? Why the hell would they torture the werewolves? It’s not like they’re just going to spill the beans about their pack. Werewolves are beyond loyal.

“Yeah,” Nate grimaces. “It’s common practice for hunters. They enjoy it,” the last part is barely a whisper.

Dan doesn’t stay longer to listen for more, he’s back in the kitchen in no time. Reina’s mumbling something in whatever language spells are performed in, and grinding herbs in a mortar with her eyes closed.

“When will this be ready?” The vampire demands.

The witch cracks an eye open but the word flow doesn’t stop. She stares at him as if accusing him of being an idiot and, yeah, maybe she’s right. Dan so shouldn’t have tried to interrupt the spell and make her start over. That’s why, after he gets the hint, he sits down and patiently waits for her to finish. Well, he at least doesn’t ask any more stupid questions but he can’t do anything about his bouncing knee or the way he keeps chewing on his lip or thumbnail.

Reina’s not done by the time the wolves gather in the kitchen to grab some food. Apparently, the torture session for Phil and Seth has finished as the pack looks more relaxed and not so much in pain. They do seem tired, though.

Olivia runs her fingers through Dan’s hair as she passes him and then leans on Kevin’s shoulder, monitoring the contents of the fridge as is the other beta. Anne is huffing at something Ethan said before entering the kitchen and she too presses her fingertips to Dan’s nape. Ethan seemingly repeats the movement subconsciously; he’s still insisting on something when he touches the same spot Anne did, following the female beta, not even glancing at the vampire. Kate trails her hand over Dan’s shoulders and even Luke claps a hand on Dan’s shoulder blade. None of the weres seem to realise what they’ve just done.

_Werewolves_. Dan rolls his eyes and returns to Reina watching.

Marie plops onto a chair beside him, leaning into his personal space, her arm on his shoulder.

“What’s cooking?” She wonders, peering into the dish Reina has.

“Magic,” Dan answers. Then he turns to her, having remembered something. “Have you found any clues in the woods?”

The beta shakes her head. “They covered their tracks well. Not the actual tracks of their cars, of course,” she tilts her head to the side. “But we only managed to follow the tire tracks to the highway. Clearly, they moved Phil and Seth somewhere further away,” she sighs and puts her chin on Dan’s shoulder. The brunet doesn’t know if all the touching is more comforting or uneasy. Either way, he’s not used to it.

“It’s fine, though,” Olivia butts into their conversation and leans on Dan from behind him. And seriously? What’s up with him being the werewolf pillow or whatever? “Nate has quite a few friends and he’ll disturb all of them until we get our pack mates back.”

Dan simply nods in agreement; he can’t afford to think otherwise.

After a monstrous amount of sandwiches has been devoured by a pack of wolves (Dan managed to snatch a couple), Reina finally finishes her chanting and herb mixing in various bowls.

“This’ll be ready tomorrow,” the witch answers Dan’s previous question. And the vampire is not the only one to pout at that. “They’re supernaturals and I don’t know them that well; it’s difficult,” Reina scowls at the pack and Dan. “I need this to sit in the moonlight for three hours,” she lifts up a copper bowl.

Marie snatches it out of her hands, saying, “I know the perfect place.” The werewolf disappears from the kitchen but no one questions it.

After that there’s not much anyone else can do. Eric sends out Kevin and Ethan to run perimeter, just in case. The rest of the pack gathers in the lounge. Once again mattress and pillow galore appears as if out of nowhere and the werewolves fall down on top of each other as a movie starts playing on the flatscreen.

Dan’s sitting on a sofa with Reina by his side. He doesn’t really see the movie as he keeps biting at his thumbnail. This, apparently, irritates the witch and she swats his hand away from his mouth. Dan starts gnawing on his lip.

This all feels wrong. Here they are, lounging around, watching some crappy movie, while Phil and Seth are suffering in some hunter torture dungeon. At least when Dan was driving around, collecting Reina’s herbs, he had something to do, something to concentrate on, and now all he can think about is Phil in the dark, bloody and bruised. It’s not a visual he wants to have.

“Wanna go for a run?” Kate looks up at him from where she’s sitting pressed against Dan’s legs.

“A run?” Dan repeats dubiously. Is that some sort of werewolf bonding thing?

“Yeah,” Olivia grins at him, rolling off of Marie. “It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t know,” the vampire says carefully, glancing at Reina. He doesn’t know if she’ll be comfortable left alone with the werewolves, however, she did seem pretty chummy with Sarah today.

“Just go, you idiot,” the little witch pushes at his shoulder, not managing to move him even an inch. “Your fidgeting is fucking annoying.”

Dan huffs but agrees with a simple, “Okay.”

The betas though glance at Eric before following Dan to the doorway of the lounge. The Alpha looks at Dan and then turns to the girls. His lips turn downwards but he gets a not so subtle punch in the gut courtesy of Nate’s elbow and sighs.

“Yeah, fine,” he waves a hand. “Stay in the perimeter,” he calls after the betas that are already running off.

Dan catches up to Kate and Olivia by a creek. They’re both in full shift. He recognises Kate’s grey fur from the night before and gathers that the russet wolf must be Olivia.

“So,” the vampire kneels down next to the wolves. Kate butts her head into his hand and he pets her, smiling. “Are we just running then?”

After the words leave his mouth, the wolves dart away from him and over the stream. Dan hurries to chase them.

They play tag for hell knows how long. All three of them return muddied, exhausted, but content. And Dan figures that’s what being part of a pack must feel like all the time. Just constant reassurance and help from your closest people, never having to face anything alone. He could get used to it.

***

This time Dan starts awake with wolves howling and whimpering around him. He didn’t even realise that last night he joined the puppy pile after the run. The vampire lifts his head, already on alarm. As he looks around, no threat seems to be visible.

“Eric, I’m telling you, cut them off,” Nathan demands, jaw clenched, as he stares into his mate’s red eyes. They’re both in the middle of the pile of werewolves, sitting facing each other on the mattress.

The Alpha only growls, shivering when pain spikes up again. A similar tremor runs through all the wolves, Dan notices.

“Stubborn dick,” Nate huffs, hitting Eric upside the head and stalking out of the lounge angrily (but carefully enough so as not to step on any limbs).

Dan doesn’t really know what to do so he gets up too, watches for a moment as the werewolves huddle closer together with their Alpha in the centre, and goes to find the others.

The humans and the witch are back in the kitchen. Noah winces every time a louder growl rings through the house, Sarah’s holding his hand, her brows drawn together in worry, and Nathan’s mumbling something about martyrs and guilt. It makes no sense. Reina, having not slept all night as she’s back on that schedule, seems about to be finishing her spell.

“I thought these were supposed to be easy,” Dan mumbles, approaching her. “Just waving a pendulum on a map and _bam_ you’ve found yourself a werewolf.”

Reina looks incredibly unimpressed.

“You do that,” she says, tone flat. “Meanwhile, I’ll be practicing _real_ magic.” The witch takes the copper bowl and some bag and heads outside. “Without any _bams_!” She shouts over her shoulder.

To not feel so useless, Dan helps Nate make breakfast for everyone. In the middle of slicing yet another cucumber for the humongous salad, he realises that he’d never want to be responsible for a pack of wolves. They’ll eat you out of house and home.

They’re not nearly finished when Reina returns from outside.

“I need the Alpha for the spell to work,” the witch declares, standing in the hall, between the lounge and the kitchen.

Eric appears in the doorway, not exactly happy, but the murderous look on his face is kind of ruined by how uncomfortably in pain he looks.

“Right,” Reina mumbles, looking the werewolf up and down. “Come on, then.”

Unsurprisingly, everyone follows them out. The sun glimpses through the clouds from time to time so Dan stays on the back porch, in the shadows, as he watches the ritual unfold. The werewolves sit or stand in the sunlight, all senses on alert.

Reina has drawn a huge salt circle over half the clearing with lines and symbols connecting it to a smaller circle inside of the first one. The second circle is bare, only with a map in the middle of it. That’s where Reina and Eric sit down, facing each other. They link their hands over the map and the witch starts chanting as the Alpha’s eyes slowly turn red.

During all of this, the wolves relax slightly, pain seemingly leaves their bodies for a bit. Dan thinks that maybe the torture session is over, or maybe Reina’s blocking the pack bonds with her locator spell. Either way, Dan’s happy the whimpering has stopped and that the werewolves are no longer suffering.

There’s suddenly a gasp from Reina and the vampire tenses. He watches as the witch’s eyes open, looking up into the sky, the normally black irises have turned completely white, blood trickles from her nose, down her chin and neck. The words never stop pouring out of her mouth, however. She’s trembling violently, skin paling by the second, grip tightening on the Alpha’s, who looks to be in the same trance, hands.

Dan steps forward, wanting to help her, stop the spell. But he knows he shouldn’t as it might be even more dangerous than whatever the hell is going on right now. So he just grits his teeth and crosses his arms.

After a couple of minutes, Reina collapses, unlinking herself from Eric. The Alpha blinks at the scene in front of him and then he’s lifting Reina up and bringing her into the house.

“I’m assuming that didn’t work,” Anne mutters as they all return inside.

Eric lays Reina down on one of the sofas and Dan’s immediately by her side, holding her limp hand in his. Sarah sets to check her over.

“Reina said there was someone blocking us,” Eric explains and Dan’s eyes flitter to him for a moment. He looks drained too. “She fought them off but we didn’t manage to get the location.”

And there goes that plan, Dan thinks ruefully. He brushes Reina’s hair from her forehead and sighs. They need to think of something else to get Phil and Seth back.

***

Two days later, they haven’t managed to think of any other plan. Nathan contacted everyone he knew but nobody reported anything werewolf related. The pack became even more restless after their bond to Phil and Seth got cut off abruptly when the spell didn’t work. Reina said the hunters most likely have a witch of their own, a more powerful one than she is so she can’t bring the connection back. The wolves sulked for the whole day.

Dan’s turning moodier too. He hasn’t fed in over three days and because of the blood loss from the unbinding ritual he’s basically running on fumes which makes the craving even stronger. It’s getting more and more difficult to control the monster inside of him. It craves blood but there’s none that Dan could drink. The healthy heartbeats of the werewolves are getting harder to resist and he spaces out often enough just concentrating on the blood pumping through their veins.

It doesn’t go unnoticed, of course. Olivia even graciously offers to give Dan some of her blood. After that follows an awkward explanation of the bond between a vampire and their lover. Olivia backs off immediately.

Dan thinks he should go home and suffer silently but he already got used to the pack and always having someone to talk to. It’s a luxury he hasn’t experienced in a while and he’s nothing if not selfish so he doesn’t leave. That’s why he’s sitting on the porch steps, watching as the wolves tumble over each other, growl loudly, and basically try to kill each other when training. There’s really not anything else they can do at the moment and it’s a good way to spend all that nervous energy.

Marie claws at Kevin’s shoulder, leaving deep gashes, and the beta howls. He turns around soon enough and goes for her throat but the female werewolf is faster and easily dodges him. Dan’s eyes move over them and onto Anne and Ethan who are circling one another, claws out, fangs glinting. Eric and Nathan seem to be having the most fun. Well, at least Nathan is, judging by the huge grin he’s sporting. The ex-mercenary is shooting arrow after arrow at the constantly moving Alpha, managing to nick him a few times. Olivia and Kate are in full shift, snarling at each other and rolling in the short cut grass.

Dan casts his glance down again, fiddling with his phone. He twirls the device between his fingers and frowns at it. There’s something gnawing at the back of his mind but he can’t figure out what. The vampire unlocks his phone then locks it again as the thought escapes him.

He focuses on Luke tapping on his laptop. The werewolf sits a bit further away from Dan and a step higher, his boyfriend is of course glued to his side. Luke’s doing some coursework as the new semester has started this week. Dan himself completely abandoned his online courses; he can’t concentrate anyway. Maybe he’ll even call the college he’s enrolled in and tell them to halt his studies or –

He stops mid-thought. Call. He had to _call_ Gordon and update him of what he knew but he never did it and totally forgot about it after the unbinding spell. But Dan has his _number_. Idiot. He should’ve thought of this sooner.

“Hey,” the brunet calls out to Luke. “You’re like a tech wiz, right?” He asks, nervous for some reason.

“I guess,” the werewolf shrugs a shoulder. “Why?” He tilts his head to the side as werewolves are wont to do when they’re confused.

“I still have the phone number of the hunter,” Dan explains. “Could you track it?”

Dan’s suddenly hit upside the head and he turns to glower at Reina who only crosses her arms and huffs, “Well, you could’ve mentioned that sooner.” Dan rolls his eyes.

The vampire is vaguely aware that the training in the yard has stopped and now everyone is focused on them. Luke glances at the rest of his back briefly before refocusing on Dan.

“I can try,” he says cautiously.

And yeah, Dan gets it. They don’t have any other plans and it all hinges on the young werewolf. The pressure must be a bit much for him.

The vampire dictates the number and Luke writes it down. Now the whole pack is sitting in front of the porch steps, watching the both of them.

“You’ll have to call him and talk to him for a bit,” Luke looks at Dan and the vampire nods. He can do it. For Phil.

The brunet hesitates only for a second before pressing ‘call’ next to Gordon’s number.

“Daniel,” the hunter answers after the third ring. “I did not expect to hear from you after your coven fled the city so quickly.”

“Yeah, well,” Dan draws out, thinking of what to say. “I-I thought we could make a deal.”

The pack lock their eyes on him.

“Really? Well, I’m interested,” Gordon says, amusement in his voice. “What kind of deal are we talking about?”

“The Alpha in exchange for Phil,” Dan blurts out before he gets cold feet.

The vampire meets Eric’s eyes. He has an eyebrow raised in question, arms crossed. Dan only shrugs and bites his lip.

“Phil?” Gordon repeats the name. “Your werewolf friend?”

“Yeah, he’s, uh,” Dan stutters for a second, glancing down. One of the werewolves snickers but Dan doesn’t lift his head up to see which one. He bets on Anne. “Yeah, he’s my friend,” he finishes lamely.

“So he’s one of the betas we caught,” it’s more of a musing than a question so Dan doesn’t answer. “And how do you imagine this exchange happening? Are you friends with the Alpha too?”

“Yeah, we’re real chummy him and I,” Dan laughs kind of hysterically. Eric shakes his head at that and rubs a hand over his eyes. Reina sighs next to him and looks skywards. Whatever. Dan’s doing great, in his own opinion. “Just pick a place and I’ll talk him into going there alone. You can have the Alpha and I’ll get Phil back.”

“That is a tempting offer,” Gordon hums. “I’ll think it over and get back to you.”

“Sure, yeah, great,” Dan agrees easily. Luke taps him on the shoulder, showing he needs more time. “Just another thing,” the vampire says quickly and glances at the pack for suggestions on what else to say. The werewolves are useless as they shrug their shoulders. Dan rolls his eyes.

“Yes?” The hunter prompts when Dan hasn’t said anything.

“Uh,” the brunet licks over his dry lips. “How is he?” He whispers, looking down and picking at a thread on his shirt. Reina’s hand is on his shoulder, squeezing lightly in support. “Phil, I mean. How is he?”

“Your werewolf is fine,” Gordon replies offhandedly. “He’d be better if he cooperated. Don’t worry, we’ve been taking care of him,” and there’s definitely a sinister smile playing at his lips, Dan can already imagine it.

“Okay, great,” Dan mumbles.

“Goodbye, Daniel,” the hunter says in a sweet tone and the line disconnects.

The vampire frowns at his phone. _Nasty dude_ , he thinks.

“Did you get it?” Nathan hops onto the porch, looking at Luke’s laptop.

“Yeah, I did,” a grin spreads over the beta’s face and then the rest of the pack are smiling and laughing and jumping up and down.

“Where?” Eric demands at once, voice serious. The hollering stops.

“A few miles east of Charlotte’s territory,” Luke answers, staring at the screen. “It’s a five hour drive.”

The Alpha nods and starts issuing orders.

“Nate, call Charlotte,” he turns to his mate. “You know the drill: ask her for official permission to travel through her territory,” he grimaces then and adds, “maybe to stay there too, inform her of the situation, maybe her pack will help.”

The human nods and heads inside, all business.

“The rest of you, pack up three cars,” the Alpha continues and werewolves jump into action. “Marie and Luke, you’re staying here. Reina,” he glances at the witch who’s still sitting by Dan’s side. “I’d appreciate it if you came with us.”

“Sure,” she nods. “I’ll grab my things,” and she too disappears into the house.

“What should I do?” Dan asks, standing up. Excitement is buzzing through his veins, they’re finally getting somewhere.

“You’re staying here, Dan,” Eric stares straight into his eyes.

“What? Why?” The brunet’s eyes widen. “I’ve helped you. Haven’t I proven myself already?” He demands, furrowing his brows.

“Charlotte will not appreciate me bringing a vampire into her territory,” Eric lifts a hand up as Dan is about to protest. “Her land, her rules. There’s certain conduct when werewolves cross territories. I do not want to anger her in any way, we need her help.”

“But I can help too,” Dan exclaims, frustrated.

“I’m aware of that,” Eric grits out, he’s so getting pissed off too. “But if you want to be a part of this pack, you have to learn to follow my orders. And right now, I’m telling you to stay here and not hinder our plans,” he clenches his teeth, eyes glowing red for a second.

Dan wants to stand his ground. He wants to help save Phil and Seth, he wants to see Phil as soon as possible. But he deflates. It wouldn’t do in the long run to defy Eric right now, and Dan being a vampire might certainly cause more trouble than good. Fucking hell, why does he have to be so logical?

The brunet huffs.

“Fine,” he mumbles. “But you better bring him back in one piece,” he throws a glare the Alpha’s way.

“We will,” Eric answers simply and claps a hand on Dan’s shoulder as he passes by the vampire. If that’s not acceptance then Dan doesn’t know what is.

Before the whole horde of werewolves leaves, Reina promises to keep Dan updated on everything that’ll be happening. The vampire is grateful but he’s still begrudging the fact that _she_ gets to go and he has to stay behind. Not fair. And he totally doesn’t pout at that as he watches the three cars driving off, nope.

***

Dan’s pacing. He’s been pacing for the past five hours and he sees himself pacing for the upcoming five too. Marie tried to persuade him to have a snack, to go on a run with them, to do _anything_ to get his mind off this. Dan declined on all accounts.

It’s past midnight already. He’s in the back yard where there’s no risk of him running into furniture as he keeps walking back and forth. The moon is out. She’s getting rounder as the full moon approaches.

Dan takes deep breaths to calm himself and to stave off all the horrible images of the wolf pack being slaughtered that his active imagination comes up with oh so helpfully. And when did he get so attached to all the werewolves? He huffs, turning on his heel once again and resuming his pacing.

The vampire is glaring at the grass, phone pressed tightly in his hands, lips a thin line, as the device pings. _Fucking finally_.

_Reina: we’re at the other pack’s house. their alpha is scary as hell. i nearly got ripped to shreds as a ‘supernatural threat’. can you believe that bullshit?? she would’ve had you torched or smth._

Dan frowns at the small screen. Fuck Eric being right.

_Dan: when are you getting phil?????_

That might’ve been too many question marks but Dan’s worried and when he’s worried he projects it onto using too many punctuation marks.

_Reina: tomorrow night. the other pack agreed to help. they know the area, we’re making a plan. it’s gonna be kickass._

_Dan: tomorrow????_

Ugh. Why do they have to wait until tomorrow? Dan would’ve stormed the place as soon as he got there.

_Reina: technically it’s today._

_Reina: and do you want your bf to die? or your bff? a plan means we get back to you alive. jerk._

The brunet rolls his eyes. He knows _that_. Logically, at least. The emotional part of him, however, wants Phil by his side here and now and not a minute later.

Dan texts a reluctant ‘fine’ and after a moment sends Reina another text.

_Dan: take care of him for me_

He bites his lip as he turns his gaze into the dark woods where some animal rustled the bushes. Dan would give anything to be there for Phil himself but he’s a fucking vampire who, apparently, is not welcome anywhere near werewolves. He curses Natalie again for always ruining everything for him.

_Reina: don’t worry, i got it covered._

The vampire relaxes slightly. At least Reina will make sure Phil gets back to Dan alive and well.

***

Over the next couple of days Dan only lives for Reina’s texts. He never lets go of his phone and checks it every five minutes. Marie and Luke throw him worried glances, Sarah puts food right in front of his face because otherwise he just won’t eat, and Noah looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than here.

After the first day, when the rescuing had to take place, Dan nearly flipped when he didn’t get an update from Reina for eight fucking hours. Like, how long does it take to get a couple of werewolves out of an underground lair? The vampire walked in circles outside, tugging at his hair, until the sun came up. Only then did he receive a text from Reina.

_Reina: everyone’s alive. most are injured. phil’s out cold. the hunters injected the wolves with smth. i got it out their systems. it was fucking hard. you better appreciate me._

Dan texted back a hundred if not more heart emojis and danced in place, smiling like there was no tomorrow.

Right now, he’s standing on the porch with the rest of the group that got left out, waiting for the others to get back. Marie and Luke said that they can feel the pack getting closer and couldn’t stay indoors any longer. The two werewolves are fidgeting and Dan’s sure that he is too and that he won’t calm down until he’s got Phil back in his arms.

The three cars soon appear on the turn of the road and stop in front of the house. Dan’s heart is in his throat. He watches as the werewolves get out of the vehicles and soon are tackled by Marie and Luke. He hears Phil’s laughter from below the pile of wolves and his own lips tug upwards. Finally, they all detangle themselves and head inside, everyone grinning.

Eric claps a hand on Dan’s shoulder as he passes with Nathan by his side, the human beaming at the vampire. The rest of the wolves also touch him in some way and he gives them all his sincerest smile in thanks for what they did. Reina punches his shoulder. Typical. And then there’s only him and Phil and the twilight.

The werewolf looks pale and exhausted but otherwise unharmed. He tilts his head to the side as he looks Dan over.

“When did you get so friendly with my pack?” He wonders curiously.

The brunet only huffs in amusement and bounds down the steps of the porch, crashing his body into Phil’s. The wolf’s arms instantly wrap around him and Dan revels in the heat. Phil nuzzles at his neck.

“I missed you,” he whispers, planting a kiss on Dan’s cheek.

“Missed you too,” Dan murmurs back.

And then he’s drawing back slightly, fingers tangling in Phil’s hair as he slots their mouths together. Phil makes an approving humming sound, bringing Dan closer to himself, fingers digging into Dan’s hips. He’s licking into the brunet’s mouth and this time Dan’s more than happy to give control to Phil.

They’re kissing under the rising moon, wolf whistles from actual werewolves sounding behind them, and Dan thinks that he’s never been this happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the total amount of chapters to 18 but that's approximate, could be less, could be more, idk if I want to include an epilogue and all that, so we'll see.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the calm before the storm chapter.

Phil’s being a creep. He knows this but it doesn’t stop him from staring down at his mate while the latter is sleeping. It’s dawning and Phil really appreciates how the curtain muted hues of the rising sun dance across Dan’s face.

They’re in one of the guest bedrooms of his Alpha’s house. The familiar scent of pack and home soothes Phil’s wolf after the many days of suffering in the hunter dungeon. His muscles still ache from the shit they injected him with but Reina said that some achiness is expected as the concoction was a mix of wolfsbane and mountain ash and other stuff dangerous to werewolves so he should feel the aftermath even when Reina got it out of his system.

Right now, however, Phil’s more worried about his mate. Dan hasn’t fed since Phil was kidnapped and that was nearly a week ago. The vampire doesn’t seem to be faring well; his forehead is too clammy, skin too pale, breathing too shallow. Phil wanted to give Dan some of his blood last night but the brunet refused saying that Phil was exhausted and traumatised and needed to rest. The werewolf grudgingly agreed.

He’s feeling better though, not as frail and weak as a few hours ago; being near pack helps. Although, he might be a bit sleep deprived because as soon as he closes his eyes Claire’s face haunts him, he can feel the knives digging into his ribs, he trembles at the ghost of the huntress’s touch on his skin.

The werewolf swallows down a lump, whining slightly at the memories, and nuzzles at his mate’s neck. He covers Dan with his whole body and the vampire wraps his arms around him unconsciously. Phil shudders at the cold touch but doesn’t let go.

The scent of his pack is already ingrained in Dan’s skin and it makes Phil smile slightly. He didn’t know that the vampire spent nearly a week with the wolves, searching for Phil, and in the process turned into pack himself. It makes Phil unbelievably happy to have Dan here, with the rest of his family.

And it only took Phil being tortured for days for that to happen. The beta snorts.

Dan’s heartbeat stops for a second and then he’s breathing harshly as he wakes up slowly. Phil lifts himself up on his hands, staring down at Dan. The vampire blinks sluggishly, heart in overdrive but getting calmer by the second.

“Morning,” the werewolf murmurs, nosing at Dan’s jawline.

“Hi,” the brunet answers groggily and pets Phil on the head. It makes a smile spread on Phil’s face.

The wolf plants a gentle kiss on Dan’s pulse point, skims his lips over his neck and then back down again, nipping at his collarbone. The vampire sighs, carding his fingers through Phil’s hair. Lifting up again, Phil slots his lips with Dan’s but makes it gentle and unhurried. When he pulls away, Dan’s blinking at him with completely black eyes, fangs already sharpening.

“You need to feed,” Phil says.

Dan shakes his head, closes his eyes for a second, taking a few calming breaths, and then his eyes are back to their gorgeous brown and his lips are not being pricked by fangs.

“I’m fine,” he lies and smiles, bringing his hands from Phil’s nape and running his thumbs over the wolf’s cheekbones.

“Are we really gonna argue about this?” Phil lifts an eyebrow and then turns his head to plant a kiss in the middle of Dan’s palm. “I have rested as you asked,” the werewolf reminds his mate. “I’m a hundred per cent and you can totally drain me of a bit of blood.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dan bites his lip, eyes flicking to the side.

Phil huffs, sitting up, straddling Dan’s waist. “Why not?” He demands.

The brunet sits up too, his fingers glide down Phil’s ribs, settling on his hips.

“You’ve been tortured,” he whispers, staring at Phil’s chest. “Don’t think I wasn’t informed by at least three people about the state you were found in or what they found in the dungeon. I don’t think you’re ready to bleed out again after you’ve been sliced for nearly a weak.”

The werewolf sets his jaw and removes all contact points from his mate, standing up and crossing his arms.

“Why do you think you know what I’m ready for?” Phil scowls at Dan. “You’re all about free agency so why aren’t you giving me mine? Are you the only one who knows what’s best for everyone else?”

The vampire turns to Phil, sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together.

“You’re a werewolf, Phil,” Dan says, not looking at him. “You want to make your,” he stops for a fraction of a second, barely noticeable how he hesitates over the word, “ _mate_ happy. And you would do so without any regard for how you’re feeling. You might have PTSD or something, for crying out loud,” he runs a hand through his hair.

“And when did you become the werewolf expert?” Phil grits out through clenched teeth.

This situation is getting completely out of hand. He was supposed to have a lovely reunion with his mate and now they’re fighting. Just Phil’s luck.

But he can’t let go of what Dan implied.

“Yes, I’d do anything for you,” Phil admits. “But I’m not a blind puppy who follows his instincts, Dan. I do have a brain and I can think for myself.”

The vampire groans and stands up.

“That’s not what I meant,” he throws his hands up in exasperation.

“Really?” Phil snarks. “Cos it sure sounded like you think that I can’t make my own decisions. I’m not just a dumb mutt who follows orders.”

“Oh my god,” Dan exclaims, tugging at his hair. “Would you stop putting words in my mouth?” He waves about with his hands. “I just don’t want you to get triggered and freak out, you idiot.”

If anything is triggering Phil, it’s this conversation. It reminds him too much of Claire and how she didn’t respect Phil at all, thinking he’s some sort of an animal that’s not good for anything.

“How very considerate of you,” Phil scoffs. “Maybe you’ll remove every pointy object from my vicinity too?”

“For fuck’s sake,” Dan rubs a hand over his eyes. Phil can see the black leeching into them. “I’m just worried about you. You were _tortured_ , Phil. You can’t just brush it off.”

“Oh, thank you for continuously reminding me, else I could’ve forgotten,” the werewolf snarls. He doesn’t even want to begin to explain how it wasn’t his first time and he knows how to deal with it.

His inner wolf is really not happy with the current situation and wants to make up with their mate at this very moment but that idiot has no brain so Phil doesn’t pay its wishes any mind.

“I’m a big boy, Dan,” Phil continues. “I can take care of myself. And if you want to starve then be my guest,” he near shouts and storms out of the room, not being able to deal with this right now.

He hears Dan calling after him and then hissing, swearing at the sun. Phil doesn’t turn back.

“Well, that escalated quickly,” Anne drawls out, leaning against a wall on the second floor.

Phil glares at her, letting his eyes flash golden. “Fuck off,” he growls at her.

He receives a couple worried glances from Marie and Kate as he trudges down the first floor hall. Stupid werewolves and their stupid super-hearing.

He’s already lost his shirt and is removing his pyjama bottoms when he reaches the mudroom. Phil opens the door, completely naked, and winces at the full shift. He lets the wolf take over and just runs.

***

The ginger wolf is lying by the creek, panting heavily in the early autumn sunlight. His muzzle is dripping with the blood of the rabbit he chased around and made his meal. Licking at his red canines, the wolf stands up, slinking to the water and lapping some up. Rosy tinges tint the waterline when he pulls back, sitting on his haunches.

His ears perk up as he picks up approaching footsteps. They’re familiar so he doesn’t react, just listens. Soon enough one of his sisters appears on the other side of the shallow stream. She’s in her human skin and the wolf turns his head sideways, watching her carefully.

“Come on, change back, I think it’s time for a talk,” she says, hands on her hips, red curls springing around her face.

The wolf snorts at her words, shaking his head, and stands up. He turns tail, ready to run back into the thicket, when she huffs.

“Phil, don’t do this, you can’t stay full shifted for the rest of time,” she calls after him. “You will have to face him sometime.”

The wolf’s ears press against his skull at the mention of his mate. He whines sadly and drops to the ground, pressing his muzzle against his paws. Suddenly, there are fingers carding through his fur.

“He’s as miserable as you,” his sister says. “But he can’t come out here and talk to you when it’s daylight so you’ll have to be the bigger person here. Or wolf,” she adds on second thought. “I don’t think he’d mind seeing you in this form.”

The wolf rolls his eyes but stands up.

“That’s a good boy,” his sister exclaims too enthusiastically. He snaps at her and she just laughs, running in the direction of the house. The wolf accepts the chase.

He catches her in the yard, making her tumble to the ground. She pushes at his chest as he keeps nuzzling at her neck and slobbering all over it. With one final push, she gets him off of herself, her eyes flashing gold, but she’s smiling.

“Let’s go,” she says.

The wolf follows his sister into the house, passing other members of the pack who run their hands over his fur, making him purr happily. They go upstairs and she opens the door, letting him into the darkened room. His mate is sitting on the bed and lifts an eyebrow at the wolf then he glances at his sister.

“He wanted to stay in this form,” she shrugs. “I suppose, you can say your peace easier that way.”

“Will he even understand me?” His mate asks, getting off the bed cautiously.

“Yeah,” she hums. “It’s not really the same as being in human form though. Some concepts might escape him. Depends on how far from the surface Phil is and how much he let the wolf take over.”

The vampire frowns at that.

“I’m pretty sure it’s not _that_ much,” his sister assures his mate.

“Right,” he says, sighing.

“Good luck,” she wishes, scratching the wolf’s ear before she leaves, closing the door.

The ginger wolf sits down, regarding his mate carefully. The brunet moves forward slowly, kneeling in front of the wolf, extending his left hand.

“I hope you won’t bite my hand off,” he murmurs.

The wolf scoffs, which comes out very sneeze like, and pushes his nose against his mate’s palm. His mate smiles slightly, carding fingers through the fur.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” he bites his lip, eyes following the movements of his hand. “And for what I implied. I really didn’t want to make it sound like you don’t know what’s best for you.”

The wolf whines slightly and steps closer to his mate, putting his muzzle on the other’s shoulder. His mate hugs him back, fingers tugging at strands of fur. The wolf pulls back and licks up a strip from his mate’s neck to his temple. The vampire flails, pushing at the wolf.

“Ew, Phil,” he exclaims. “That’s disgusting,” he wipes his hands over his face.

The wolf barks out a laugh but stops abruptly as he notices the burn on his mate’s arm. The wound looks fresh and painful. He gingerly clasps his teeth around the brunet’s wrist, tugging.

“Yeah,” his mate sighs. “Got burned a bit when chasing after you. It’s totally your fault.”

The wolf whimpers, letting go of the wrist, ears flat against his skull.

“I was only joking,” the vampire rushes to assure him. “I guess, the concept of humour is lost on you in this form.”

The wolf rolls his eyes. Then he backs up a bit, craning his neck to one side, forcing the shift. Phil’s mirroring Dan’s pose when he’s fully transformed.

“It wasn’t funny. Even my wolf knows that,” he comments on what Dan said earlier.

But Dan is only staring at him with wide eyes, a blush rising to his cheeks and his heart is speeding up. The vampire quickly turns his gaze away.

“You’re absolutely naked,” he breathes out, voice sounding a bit strangled.

Phil smirks. Evilly.

“Does that bother you?” He wonders, all fake innocence.

“I mean, you could warn a guy,” Dan tells the wall that he’s studiously staring at. “I don’t think I was prepared for that.”

“How about this?” Phil wonders as he crawls over to Dan, placing butterfly kisses on the column of his neck. That’s extremely pleasing to Phil’s wolf.

“Oh my god,” Dan practically moans and Phil can’t take it any longer.

He topples Dan over, settling over him, kissing and biting at his neck. The brunet responds instantaneously, fingers digging into Phil’s shoulders. Phil’s own fingers move to pull at Dan’s shirt, exposing a clavicle, and Phil sets to leave a mark onto it. The bruise doesn’t settle, it vanishes after a few moments as the vampire’s healing kicks in, and the werewolf groans out loud, disappointed.

But then Dan’s tugging at his hair and Phil obliges, locking his lips with his mate’s. Their breathing is heavy, hearts pounding faster. Phil can feel Dan’s fangs lengthening and he pulls back, watching as the vampire’s eyes slowly turn black. Without really thinking, the wolf exposes his neck; an offering.

This time Dan doesn’t refuse. His fingers dig into Phil’s shoulders as he bites down. Phil gasps and closes his eyes. The calm is already familiar and welcome as Dan gulps his blood down.

Ecstasy spreads through his veins soon enough, making him moan and every cell of his body buzz in pleasure. The werewolf is positively panting when Dan finally pulls back, satisfied at least in one way, and licks into Phil’s mouth hot and dirty (metaphorically), and bloody (literally). But the latter only barely registers in Phil’s mind as there’s grinding and wandering hands and a lot of moaning from both parties.

Phil’s wolf growls to take back the control and so he does, circling his fingers over Dan’s wrists and pinning his hands over his head. The vampire is not giving up so easily and Phil finds himself on the carpet, Dan smirking above him as he extricates his wrists from Phil’s hold. Phil laughs, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth, and then moans as Dan’s tongue slides down his chest.

The werewolf allows his mate a couple minutes of exploring and then changes their positions again. Dan rolls his eyes but lifts up to catch Phil in a kiss nonetheless. The hands are back to mapping out each other’s bodies, Phil’s sliding under Dan’s shirt. But when he reaches for Dan’s belt the vampire is suddenly shoving at Phil’s chest.

“Wait, wait, wait,” he stumbles out, breathing harsh. “I am not having sex with you when there are another nine werewolves who can listen in.”

“Actually,” Phil pecks Dan’s collarbone. And so sue him, he has a weakness for collarbones and necks. “There are only five other wolves in the house. Luke has left with Noah, Anne and Ethan are running perimeter, and Kevin and Kate are just running.”

“Yeah, still a no,” Dan shakes his head.

“You know,” Phil says, extricating himself from Dan. “For werewolves it’s not a big deal. We hear and smell all kinds of things.” And he would totally like to get back at the others for the things he heard.

Dan looks at him deadpan.

“Somehow I don’t want to be one of the things your pack hears and/or smells,” the vampire states. Phil, being a brilliant mate that he is, doesn’t point out that the pack already heard plenty because of their make out session.

There’s a snicker from Olivia on the second floor, reiterating the point Phil didn’t make, and Dan lifts an eyebrow at Phil as if to say ‘see?’. Phil gives up and stands up; he doesn’t really want to push Dan if he’s not ready, no matter how growly and demanding his inner wolf gets. However, he doesn’t miss Dan’s audible gulp and the shuddery exhale.

“You sure you’re not gonna change your mind?” The wolf lifts an eyebrow with a smile, widening his stance, crossing his arms over his chest to make the muscles flex. It’s more for teasing than anything else, really.

“Oh my god,” Dan covers his eyes with a hand. “You’re evil,” he groans, head banging against the floor. “I hate you.”

Phil hums at that and goes in search for clothes.

“I really doubt that,” he replies, finding some trackies in a drawer and putting them on.

***

During lunch, Phil’s a bit anxious to see Dan interacting with his pack. He still can’t get the image of Eric’s claws digging into Dan’s skin that first time they met, and even when he has physical evidence (namely, that the pack’s scent is already all over the vampire) that nobody seems to mind having Dan over, Phil can’t help but worry.

The werewolf keeps his mate close, their shoulders touching as they’re eating, leaning against the counters. Eric really needs to invest into some more chairs but that’s beside the point.

“Have you heard from the hunter?” The aforementioned Alpha approaches them and Phil tenses up, watching him warily and not liking that Dan’s closer to Eric than Phil is. The beta’s instincts take over and his arm snakes around Dan’s waist on its own volition.

“He called a couple times the day after you left,” the vampire shrugs a shoulder, relaxing into Phil’s touch. He looks pretty much at ease and Phil’s confused. “I didn’t answer because I didn’t know what you wanted me to tell him. And after the whole rescue thing, I think it’s moot anyway.”

“You might be right,” Eric nods, crossing his arms and leaning next to Dan.

And what the hell? Clearly, Phil missed some Dan and Eric bonding time or something.

“I guess, we’ll just have to wait for a head on attack now,” the Alpha muses. “They will be pretty pissed after we got Phil and Seth back and killed quite a few of theirs.”

“I’m just surprised they haven’t made a move yet,” Dan shoves another bite of food in his mouth. “I mean, they ran away from that place about the same time you did, so they should be here by now.”

“Not unless they totally gave up on us after seeing how kickass we are,” Olivia sidles up to Dan, stealing a toast from his plate. The vampire only rolls his eyes, murmuring ‘werewolves’.

“You okay?” The red haired beta lifts an eyebrow at Phil. At that both his mate and his Alpha also turn to him.

Phil knows he’s been gaping but, really, can they blame him? When the werewolf last saw Dan with his pack, his mate was still unwelcome, and yeah, he might have spent a week with them, but it doesn’t guarantee this instantaneous integration. Surprised and incredibly happy are understatements to what Phil’s feeling right now.

“I just think I’m in some alternate reality but I’m enjoying it,” Phil shrugs, looking pointedly between Dan and Eric.

“Hey,” Eric jabs a finger in Phil’s direction. “I can be civil with vampires.”

Nathan scoffs as he’s passing them, having heard his mate’s words, and Olivia dubiously mumbles an ‘if you say so’. Dan stays out of it, nibbling on a piece of toast, nonchalant.

“I can,” Eric shouts after Nate and then motions to Dan. “Living proof.”

“Oh, please,” Anne butts in, coming closer to them. “If Dan hadn’t saved Nate’s life and figured out how to get Phil and Seth back, you’d still be growling at him.”

“But I’m not, am I?” The Alpha instead growls at his beta. Anne lifts her hands up in surrender, stepping back, but there’s a small smile playing at her lips at having riled up Eric.

“The question is,” Dan speaks up, “do you really think the hunters just up and left, not interested in your pack anymore?”

“We wrecked them in that dungeon,” Ethan joins the discussion, slinging an arm around Anne’s shoulders. “Olivia could be right.”

“I don’t think so,” Phil shakes his head. “They seemed pretty adamant about wiping us out. And I don’t think they’ll give up just because we found out their plan.” Phil and Seth shared the whole turning werewolves into those frenzied omegas thing with his pack after they came back to their senses at Charlotte’s. No one took to that well.

Seth only nods his agreement, mumbling out a ‘yeah’. He’s been pretty muted after the rescue. The whole pack is, of course, worried about him but it’s been only a couple of days so they’re still letting him figure it all out in his head. Phil thinks Seth’s the one suffering from PTSD because of what they experienced; after all, it wasn’t Phil’s first torture session.

“They must be just regrouping, maybe even calling up more hunters,” Kevin offers from his place at the breakfast bar.

“Yeah,” Eric sighs. “That seems more likely. Unfortunately.”

“Well, we’ll just kick their asses again,” Ethan shrugs, not seeing the problem.

“We had Charlotte’s pack helping us back there,” Olivia argues. “It won’t be easy when it’s just us. And they have a witch,” she waves about with her half eaten stolen toast.

“You have a witch too,” Reina says from where she’s sitting at the window seat with Sarah and Kate. “I’m not about to leave, you know. This is way too much fun,” she grins at Dan and the vampire smirks back.

“We could ask for Charlotte to come down here,” Nathan says without much conviction, scrunching up his nose.

“She’s not gonna put her pack at risk for our sakes again,” Eric shakes his head.

“It’s not really just for us, though,” Kate voices her opinion. “If we get crushed, then those psychos could very well get to her pack.”

“Do _you_ want to try and persuade her?” Eric lifts an eyebrow at the beta and she grimaces. And Phil can sympathise; he talked to Charlotte only once and wouldn’t want to do it again.

“Obviously, we can’t do anything about that now,” Marie hops off the breakfast bar. “Who’s up for a run?” She asks, grinning, eyes sparkling.

The werewolves agree enthusiastically; they all need an outlet that’s fun and on point with their nature after all that’s happened. And in preparation of what is clearly still waiting to happen.

Phil’s wolf whines for him to join the pack but he has other plans so he stays behind, right next to Dan who, along with Eric, raises his eyebrows.

“I already had a run today,” he shrugs a shoulder. That’s true, even though it’s not the reason why Phil’s not going with the other wolves, so Eric only shrugs and runs after the others, not sensing a lie from his beta.

“Well, if you’re not running, you’re helping to clean up,” Nathan bats his eyelashes at Phil, smirking. The werewolf groans but does as the Alpha’s mate asked.

They finish quicker than usual, both Phil and Dan using their supernatural abilities to their advantage, and then Phil’s dragging Dan over to the lounge, manhandling him onto the sofa and falling on top of him. The wolf nuzzles at his mate’s neck, breathes in deeply, and just relaxes. He’s been dreaming about this for ages.

“Hardcore cuddling?” Dan wonders, his fingers already scraping over Phil’s scalp, making the werewolf purr. “I could get used to this.”

“Good,” Phil mumbles into Dan’s throat. “I’m planning on subjecting you to this quite often in the future.” He rubs his cheek over Dan’s collarbone and then stops suddenly, reining in his instincts. “Sorry,” he tells his mate. “It’s kind of difficult to control the need to mark you when I haven’t been close to you for so long.”

The vampire bites his lip, glancing down at Phil.

“Actually,” he begins. “I don’t mind it much anymore. I’ve seen how your pack does it,” Dan explains. “They’re always sharing touches. Like, it’s weird how tactile you guys are. Clearly, it’s more important to you than I thought so,” he shrugs a shoulder, “I don’t mind,” he repeats.

A slow grin spreads across Phil’s face at Dan’s words, his wolf humming in contentment at their mate finally being fine with that display of affection.

“I’m glad,” Phil settles against his mate once more, now placing small kisses on any inch of skin he can reach as Dan’s dragging his fingers up and down Phil’s back. “The scenting is also a form of affection so my wolf got whiny when you said you don’t like it,” he admits.

Dan winces slightly.

“Wow,” the brunet says. “Now I feel even more like a dick.”

“No, I get it,” Phil shifts slightly to press his lips over Dan’s just because he can. “You don’t want to belong to anyone. And that’s not really what the marking is all about but it’s part of it so I get why you’re not for it.”

The vampire lifts his head, catching Phil’s lips for his own. His fingers slip under the wolf’s shirt, caressing the hot skin, making goose bumps rise on Phil’s skin from the cold touch. The werewolf shivers, raising himself up on one hand so he could skim the fingers of the other over his mate’s neck, pulling at the annoying material of his t-shirt and dipping down to leave a mark, even though he knows it won’t last; it’s the thought that counts.

Dan bites down on his lip and stifles a moan at Phil’s ministrations. He arches his back, one of his legs hooked over Phil’s, pushing him down. Phil smirks at his mate’s enthusiasm and grinds down into him, letting out a moan of his own against Dan’s throat.

The wolf can scent the arousal on his mate and it makes him growl possessively, nipping at the vampire’s pulse point that’s quickening its pace exponentially. Dan actually snorts at that, mumbling something about werewolves and stereotypes, so Phil bites harder just because. And then Dan laughs, his whole frame shaking along with Phil who lifts up to grin down at the brunet.

“I love you,” slips out past Phil’s lips unbidden and Dan’s laughter dies down at once.

The vampire only opens and closes his mouth a couple of times while Phil stares at him wide-eyed at what he just blurted. They agreed they were going to take this slow and here Phil goes losing himself in that perfect moment and ruining it with love confessions. Jesus, he’s an idiot. It doesn’t even matter that it’s completely true and his inner wolf yips in agreement.

Phil pulls back immediately, giving Dan some room. They sit on opposite ends of the sofa. Yeah, this day is going perfectly so far.

“I,” the werewolf begins but only gnaws on his lip. “I can’t say that I didn’t mean it,” he says instead of retracting the confession.

“Well, um,” Dan mumbles, running a hand through his hair, his eyebrows are doing some weird and complicated dance.

“It’s not the bond talking,” Phil hastens to reassure and then frowns. “Not _just_ the bond talking,” he corrects himself. “I do, really,” he stumbles out. “Love you, that is,” he scratches the nape of his neck, smiling sheepishly.

“I – You –,” Dan groans, rubbing his hand over his face. “You can’t just say things like that. We haven’t even gone on a date. We met, like, a month ago!” He exclaims, gesticulating wildly. But he’s not angry, just taken by surprise.

“I know, I know,” the werewolf says. “But I’m not taking it back. And I don’t expect you to say it back. It’s fine. I know you need more time to figure this all out,” he sighs. “It’s just…while I was in that dungeon,” Phil casts his gaze down to his lap, “thoughts of you made it all bearable, not the pack, not anyone or anything else, only you, Dan.”

“Shit, Phil,” the brunet shakes his head but a corner of his lips is quirked up slightly so maybe Phil hasn’t ruined everything completely with the worst timing and explanation ever.

Then Dan looks at him, almost shyly. “I can’t say it back yet,” he admits. “I’m still not over the whole supernatural bond thing, and we’re being hunted, and it’s all just a bit much.”

“I know, I understand,” Phil nods a few times. “It’s fine,” he repeats.

Dan himself nods too, licking his lips. “Okay,” he tries for a smile. And isn’t this awkward?

The werewolf groans at himself internally and then surges forward, capturing Dan’s lips in a kiss. The brunet giggles. Phil thinks it wasn’t that bad of an outcome when he unwittingly blurted out his feelings to his less than ready mate. The make-out session that follows after that is alright too.


	16. Chapter 16

The river bank is illuminated by white glowing orbs that have settled themselves in nearby trees. The night sky is overcast and the pale crescent of the moon is not making an appearance. Growling accompanies the soft bubbling of the water over slick rocks and the slight swishing of branches ruffled by a passing gust of wind.

Dan’s sitting on a boulder in a cross-legged position, one elbow on a knee as he rests his chin in the palm of his hand and the fingers of his left hand are drumming against the other knee. He watches restlessly as the werewolves are training. Nowadays he’s not just worried about one of them but about all of them and it’s exhausting; he has no idea how the rest of the pack do it all the time.

It’s been a couple days since the rescue mission and there hasn’t been any sign of the hunters. That’s disconcerting to say the least so the whole pack stays together. At all times. Which, annoying, but Dan’s not going to be the one to doubt or disobey the Alpha. Besides, the wolves seem really content with the idea of constantly being near each other.

But it also poses a problem of zero privacy. Dan and Phil haven’t had a chance to talk seriously about their relationship since the whole ‘I love you’ incident. And the vampire really needs them to talk ASAP as Garrett’s words keep spinning in his head like a broken record.

_You’re immortal and werewolves are not._

Yeah, a shitty situation. Especially with what is looming over them. Dan doesn’t want to think about Phil dying but if he does – _when_ he does, Dan corrects himself, because no matter if the hunters don’t come back for the pack, werewolves are not immortal, and Dan can’t survive without Phil. Literally. He’s a vampire who has only one possible blood source, namely, his boyfriend, and can’t change it. Dan thinks he got fucked over the most with their whole bond thing.

A hand closes around his drumming fingers and Dan looks at Reina who is now sitting beside him. She raises an eyebrow and the brunet gnaws on his lip, turning back to watching the wolves. The witch sighs but intertwines their fingers.

Dan hasn’t talked about wanting to break the bond between him and Phil with anyone. Not even with Reina. He knows it’s a low blow to Phil’s trust in him, just _thinking_ about breaking the bond, but he can’t help it. The vampire cares for the werewolf deeply (at least he thinks he does; it’s complicated with the whole double bond thing) but Dan will literally starve until his body shuts down without Phil’s blood and then he’ll have a perfectly functioning mind in a non-functioning body and he’ll be in hell for the rest of eternity. He’d like to avoid that if possible.

Reina nudges his shoulder and Dan glances at her. She motions to the river bank with her head and the brunet follows the motion, focusing back on reality. Wolves are panting, some of them are lying down, and the Alpha is standing in front of the boulder with his hands crossed, eyebrow raised.

“Well?” Eric prompts.

Shit, Dan’s missed something. He smiles sheepishly and says cautiously, “Sorry, what? I zoned out.”

“Are you joining the training?” The Alpha asks, long suffering.

Again, shit. Dan nearly physically winces but answers with, “Yeah, sure.”

Reina snorts because she knows Dan’s history with anything relating to sports, and Dan sends her a glare before jumping off the boulder and walking closer to the pack. Eric turns his back on him, clapping his hands a couple of times, and the wolves groan but stand up.

“What’s your skill level?” Nathan calls from Dan’s left. The human is a bit further away from the pack, knives are in his hands, and he’s swirling them around easily.

“Um,” the vampire watches the movements carefully; Nathan looks accustomed to having weapons in his hands.

“Chinese ring daggers,” Nathan stops the spinning, offering Dan a better view of one of the weapons. “My favourite,” he smiles. “So, fighting experience?” He prompts again.

“Basic stuff, I guess,” Dan shrugs. “Vampires don’t do much fighting.”

“Yeah, you’re more into manipulations,” Nathan flashes him a smile.

Dan doesn’t even protest that. Vampires do like to solve their problems using their brains rather than their muscle, unlike werewolves.

“Wanna try it first with me?” The ex-mercenary asks. And is it just Dan or is the human extremely stoked about fighting with him? Maybe it’s because Dan’s a vampire and Nathan’s been training with werewolves for the past however long.

“Alright,” Dan agrees. He knows he has no chance with the wolves but he does have his speed and strength over the human so he thinks it’s a good place to start. They’re going to fight hunters, anyway, and it’s good practice to get acquainted with how humans fight.

“Nate,” Phil calls from the other side of the clearing, attracting Dan’s attention too. The werewolf looks worried, glancing between Dan and Nathan, his hand extended to pause Marie in her attack.

“Don’t worry,” Nathan rolls his eyes. “I won’t hurt him. Much.”

Dan wants to scoff at that but the look in Phil’s eyes tells him to not take it so lightly. Phil rakes his eyes over Dan and then nods at Nathan before resuming his fight with Marie.

“Come on,” Nate smirks at him, turning slightly to the side, daggers at the ready.

Dan just shakes his head slightly but steps forward. Man, he hates fighting.

Before his brain has time to process it, the vampire is crouching on the ground, his instincts taking over. But not fast enough. There’s a sting on his left upper arm and Dan glances at it with wide eyes, watching as blood soaks his nicked sleeve. He lifts his eyes to the human.

Nathan winks at him, a smile still on his face, as he produces another dagger from behind his back. Yep, he’s totally enjoying this.

“You’re gonna sit there all night?” He taunts with a raised eyebrow.

Someone snickers to the right of Dan. The brunet sends a glare in that direction, eyes meeting Anne who is, of course, the one laughing. Eric’s lips are quirked up too. Phil’s shaking his head and looking at the sky. Dan looks back at Nathan and makes himself concentrate.

The vampire stands back up, letting his fangs drop, meaning business. It doesn’t faze Nate in the slightest. Using his speed, Dan’s in front of the human in a second, hands reaching for him, but a kick to the gut knocks Dan’s breath out of him, and he finds himself staring at the black abyss above them and groaning.

“You should protect your middle,” Nate says over him. “Solar plexus is a soft spot even for vampires.”

Dan shakes it off fast enough and is back on his feet in no time. This time he manages to grab hold of Nathan’s arm, spinning him around, but is too late locking him in place, and Nate elbows him hard with his free hand. Dan automatically lets him go as he bends over, catching his breath again.

“Your middle, Dan,” Nathan sing-songs, turning back to the vampire.

He doesn’t let him recover this time. Instead, Dan’s legs are knocked from under him. Half a second later, he’s lying on the ground with a very sharp dagger under his throat and a very cheery human on top of him, Nate’s knee is digging into his chest. Dan can feel his ego being severely trampled right now.

“Come on. Again,” Nathan says like he’s talking to one of his pups as he stands up. “Don’t be so obvious in your attacks,” he advises.

They continue on for what feels like hours and Dan’s seriously reconsidering his opinion on Nathan being a caring and loving pack mom. The guy is brutal and doesn’t let up even a little bit, pushing Dan harder and harder. Dan thinks he’d be better off training with the werewolves.

The vampire is panting, sitting on the ground, arms stretched behind him so he wouldn’t topple over. The training is coming to an end and Dan watches as Ethan gets knocked to the ground by the combined forces of Luke and Olivia. He winces at the thud on Ethan’s part because the werewolf doesn’t react and gets back up, roaring.

“You got your butt handed to you,” Phil says, smiling, plopping down next to Dan.

The brunet huffs and turns slightly, leaning his forehead on Phil’s shoulder.

“I suck,” he mutters, petulantly, voice slightly muffled.

Phil’s shoulder shakes with laughter.

“Don’t beat yourself up too much,” the wolf places a kiss on the top of Dan’s head. “Nate’s been doing this since he was twelve. And hand-to-hand combat is his favourite. You should see him sparring with his brothers. It’s a whole another level of amazing.”

“You could have warned me, you know,” Dan pulls away, definitely not pouting.

“What?” Phil lifts an eyebrow. “That the seemingly not harmful or intimidating human is our best fighter, Alpha excluded? He was a mercenary, Dan. You so should have seen that coming a mile away,” he smirks. The bastard.

“You are so not helpful,” Dan shakes his head in mock disdain. “You’re the worst boyfriend in the world.”

Phil rolls his eyes, parroting back, “The worst boyfriend in the world? Really? I give you blood on a daily basis so you could survive and I’m the worst?”

Dan hums in agreement and leans back into Phil. The werewolf scoffs but his arm finds its way around Dan’s middle. They watch the training for a couple more minutes before Dan can’t hold it in any longer.

“Can we talk?” He asks, not turning to look at Phil. “In private,” he adds.

Phil squirms against him for a second and then says, “Yeah, sure.”

They walk down the river bank, hand in hand, until the sensitive werewolf ears won’t be able to pick up what they’re talking about. Stopping by a polished rock, Phil sits down and drags Dan in between his legs, nuzzling at his ripped and dirty shirt. The brunet runs his fingers through the wolf’s hair.

Without even a sliver of the moon, it’s quite dark. Even with his vampire eyes, Dan can’t really see Phil very well but he knows the werewolf’s night vision is way better than the vampire’s. Dan thinks he should’ve asked Reina to borrow one of her light balls, though he doesn’t think it would work without her present. But that’s not the point.

“What do you wanna talk about?” Phil mumbles against Dan’s middle where he’s pressing his face.

The brunet gulps audibly and gnaws on his lip, considering how he should start. Phil gives him time to collect his thoughts, though the fingers slipping underneath Dan’s torn shirt are more of a distraction than anything grounding and helpful.

“I didn’t tell you everything about the time I talked to that pack emissary,” Dan begins.

“Oh?” Phil’s hands stop their soothing motions on Dan’s hip and his lower back.

“And I kind of lied to you about why I can drink only your blood,” that comes out as a whisper and Dan can hear how Phil’s jaw clenches, teeth grinding together.

“The thing is that vampires can form bonds with people whose blood they drink,” Dan starts explaining. “And then they can only drink that person’s blood until the bond is broken. It’s usually a sex thing, makes it more enjoyable. Anyway, it seems I inadvertently formed that bond with you the first time I drank your blood.”

“But we didn’t –” Phil doesn’t finish that sentence and Dan glances down at him. The werewolf is scowling into the distance, eyes shining gold, but his hands are still on Dan and Dan’s fingers are still in his hair.

“Yeah, that’s why at first I thought I was addicted,” Dan fills the silence. “But then _feelings_ came into play,” he scrunches up his nose as he says that word. “And then I kind of knew I had a lover bond in my hands.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Phil asks, tone not betraying any emotion.

“Cos I freaked out, I’m still freaking out,” Dan’s voice rises an octave and he steps back, running a hand through his own hair.

He starts pacing as he rants, “We got werewolf married out of nowhere, without any warning, and then we got vampire married and I knew you for only a day and I still don’t know you that well and then shit hit the fan with the hunters and then I was meeting your pack and losing my coven and it’s just too much, okay?” The vampire stops to breathe and gnaw on his lip.

“I can’t process it all and it doesn’t help that it feels like I had no choice about being in this relationship and I care about you so fucking much but I don’t know if it’s only the bond-caring care or if I genuinely do and it’s just so fucked up and then you told me you’re in love with me and I just –” a hiccup interrupts the onslaught of words and Dan realises tears are streaming down his face. He wipes at them with his dirty hands and exhales shakily.

Phil stands up, coming closer to him, but Dan steps back, hands pushing Phil away.

“I just don’t know how to handle this,” he whispers, hugging himself. “I don’t know how to handle all the things I feel for you. I want to be with you so bad,” he near whines, “but then the logical part of me is saying that it’s the bond controlling me and I can’t do this, Phil. I can’t be losing control all over again.”

And then Dan’s in Phil’s arms, being thoroughly hugged and comforted. The vampire almost laughs out loud. Trust the werewolf to be so understanding when Dan’s a complete mess and doesn’t even know what or who he wants. But it feels good to finally have that off his chest. Now only another matter that needs discussing awaits them and Dan knows Phil won’t take to it well. Like, at all.

“Shh,” Phil hushes Dan, running a soothing hand up and down his back. “It’s alright, Dan, it’s going to be okay,” he mumbles over and over again.

“No, it’s not,” the vampire disagrees feebly, he feels too drained to put up much of a fight so he clings to Phil harder, burrowing his face into the wolf’s neck.

“The hunters will descend onto your pack and then I’m gonna lose you,” he mutters petulantly.

“Wow, way to be optimistic,” Phil snorts. “Don’t you have any faith in our fighting abilities?”

Dan huffs against Phil’s skin and it sends a shudder through the werewolf.

“I’m going to lose you eventually,” the vampire’s heart picks up speed and he has to fight the oncoming tears. “And I’m immortal, Phil.”

The wolf suddenly tenses and freezes. Yeah, Dan didn’t think this particular thought crossed Phil’s mind either; it seemingly escaped them both. And it’s so fucking obvious.

“The emissary that I met,” Dan breathes in slowly, “he said that the,” oh, why does he always have to trip over that word? “That the _mate_ bond and the lover bond overlapped or something. So I can’t change lovers like you can’t change mates. What it means is that I won’t be able to drink anyone’s blood after –,” he gulps, “after you’re gone.”

“And if you can’t drink anyone’s blood?” Phil prompts quietly. They’re still hugging, holding onto each other like their lives depend on it. Which, in Dan’s case, it kind of does.

“My mind will forever be trapped in my useless non-functioning body,” Dan trembles even at the thought of that.

Phil’s shuddery inhale and the way his arms tighten around Dan, tell the vampire that the wolf finally caught on.

“We’ll figure this out,” Phil says with determination, a bit of a growl in his voice.

Dan loathes the words he has to utter next but he does so nonetheless. “I already know how to fix this,” he breathes out. And then even quieter, “We can break the bond. Both bonds, I suppose. The emissary already agreed to help with that.”

The werewolf stumbles away from Dan like he’s been physically pushed, whining as if in pain. His eyes are wide and disbelieving, changing intermittently between gold and, invisible in the darkness, blue. And Dan hates doing this to Phil but it’s either that or the vampire spending an _eternity_ in hell.

“You,” he whispers, looking over Dan with wild eyes. “You want to break our bond,” the words barely get out of his mouth. “And you already arranged for it.” He runs both hands down his face and then over his hair.

Then his expression turns into even more horrified if that’s even possible, he stares at Dan like seeing a monster from the fiery depths of hell that just threatened to slaughter everyone Phil loves.

“Would you do it without me? Even if I didn’t agree? Like you did to Natalie?” He forces the questions out as if they’re physically painful, like he’s spitting wolfsbane out of his mouth.

Dan’s jaw drops open. “I would never,” he splutters.

But he can see how Phil could compare their situation with the one Dan had with Natalie. Dan more often than not feels trapped in this relationship too and it’s fair for Phil to assume that the brunet would take the same drastic measures to get rid of it as he did with his creator. Doesn’t make the pang of betrayal and hurt in Dan’s gut any lesser, though. Hypocritical of him, of course, after what he’s done to Phil, but Dan never claimed to be a good person.

Whatever the vampire wanted to say next is interrupted by a loud howl from the direction where they left the pack and Phil winces, glancing at Dan and then taking off instantly at top speed.

Fucking hell. Why now of all the possible moments? Dan swears to himself and then runs after the wolf, the matter of the bond breaking forgotten for now as they have bigger fish to fry. Or hunters, really. Dan is so up to frying up some hunters.

The illuminated river bank is now filled with people. Dan’s rendered motionless for a moment as he takes in the scene. Some of the werewolves are in beta shift, others in full, there are guns firing, people shouting, wolves growling, and the overall noise grates Dan’s ears. Reina’s standing on the boulder, using her magic to fight off the hunters’ witch. It’s total chaos.

A guy flies past Dan, splashing into the cold water of the river. His eyes are open and glassy, blood gushes out of his throat, staining the water even darker. Dan’s suddenly reminded of the days when he went unhinged and his every meal looked similarly to this. He thinks he’ll be sick.

However, he only swallows down his nerves and turns back to the river bank. Exhaling slowly and bracing himself, Dan allows the monster within him to come out and play. The vampire’s fangs drop, his gaze blurs for a little while before everything comes back into sharp focus. And then he plunges into the midst of things.

The vampire barrels down into one of the hunters, the sheer force of the impact makes them both fall to the ground. Dan doesn’t waste time not losing this opportunity and dips down, tearing away with his sharp teeth. The once satisfying taste of blood fills his mouth as the guy gurgles over his last breath beneath him. Dan sits up, spits the now disgusting liquid out of his mouth, and looks for the next victim.

The sight of ginger fur distracts him. He watches as Phil, in full-shift, stops abruptly in front of an auburn haired girl. Dan thinks he knows her from somewhere but can’t place her right now, not when she has a grin on her face, green eyes sparkling with glee as she lifts a crossbow, aiming it towards Phil.

Dan wants to shout his name, tell him to fucking get a move on, but he somehow can’t. He can’t even get his own ass up and push Phil out of the way, or maybe take the arrow for him. So the brunet only stares as Phil does nothing, ears pressed to his skull, when the girl finally releases the arrow straight into his chest. Dan’s breath catches.

But then the ginger wolf is tackled down by a grey one and Dan thanks any deity that’s listening for Kate and her general awesomeness. The grey wolf growls at the ginger one, nipping him on the leg, and then she’s throwing herself at the huntress. There’s a whine from Kate and Phil is suddenly up and helping her. Dan finally exhales.

He’s turning his head around, scanning the clearing, and thinking that hunters really did call for impressive reinforcements when a gasp is drawn out of him. Dan looks down at himself and sees an arrow lodged into his abdomen, sending searing pain through his body and making it shudder violently. But that doesn’t yet register in Dan’s brain so he has time to think – _what the hell is it with hunters and fucking arrows? Can’t they use guns like normal twenty first century people?_

He can feel his insides filling up with blood, so clearly the arrow pierced a vital organ. But he’s a vampire, damn it, and he recently endured more pain than this. So Dan yanks the arrow out of his body with a near scream and breathes through the worst of it, allowing his healing to kick in before he kicks some more hunter ass.

The vampire is up and standing in no time (‘no time’ being like five minutes of intense breathing and trying not to lose consciousness). He spots a hunter that none of the pack had the pleasure of tearing apart yet and lunges for him. Dan uses his supernatural speed and strength and the guy’s obvious distraction with trying to pump the Alpha full of wolfsbane bullets, and tears into his throat so wildly that when he’s finished there’s only a headless body left lying by his feet.

Dan staggers away, throwing up the blood he somehow managed to swallow, and wipes at his mouth, straightening back up. However, then he’s the one being ploughed into and his head connects to the ground in a resounding crack. His vision swims and he thinks he’ll be sick again but once again vampire healing prevails and his senses come back online.

The vampire doesn’t have time to use those senses, though, as he’s suddenly concentrating on getting air into his lungs. Asphyxiation is a shitty way to go, Dan’s experienced it a couple of times, and he knows it’s really bad when the tell-tale signs of his head seemingly exploding show up. But then again, he’d be dead for only a few minutes if no one removed his heart from his chest or his head from his body. Because, hello, vampire and immortality and all that jazz. However, he thinks his attacker will grant Dan the time of probably shooting a couple of bullets into Dan’s heart to make sure he stays dead.

Only a few seconds have passed after Dan’s been roughly interrupted in his hunter slaughtering, and the vampire refocuses. Through his muddled vision he notices the salt and pepper hair, the diabolical smile, and the ice cold eyes. Anger flares up within him at the sight of the hunter leader scum who pulled Dan’s werewolf knowledge out of him. So the brunet pushes with all he’s got and gets the smug son of a bitch off of himself.

Gordon stands up swiftly enough, lobbing Dan over the temple with the shotgun he used to strangle the vampire. Dan staggers to the side and snarls, turning back to the hunter. Logically Dan knows that that piece of crap human being has more experience in fighting than Dan does but it doesn’t deter the vampire from trying to rip his fucking head off his shoulders.

Dan reaches forward, grabbing the barrel of the gun and tugging forcefully. Gordon has no other option but to let go of the weapon or have his arm ripped away with it. The vampire throws the shotgun away, probably accidently whacking someone behind himself with it, and closes his fingers around the good for nothing hunter’s throat while the good for nothing hunter is momentarily distracted with the untimely loss of his gun.

There are shouts behind him of his name, an arrow lodges itself into Dan’s shoulder and another one nicks at his shin but he’s past caring about that. Snarling accompanies the arrows and Dan thinks the archer got taken care off. So he focuses back onto the psycho killer in his grip and squeezes his fingers tighter.

The creep only smirks at that and suddenly shots ring too loudly in his ears, too close. And then Dan’s body is seizing up, blood spurting out of his mouth, making him choke. A good three rounds of bullets have shredded his insides, and Dan falls to his knees. The only thought that crosses his mind is that no fucking way is he fucking dying by the hand of that nasty dickhead who thinks it’s okay to kill people just because they’re supes.

But apparently, he is. Fuck the universe.

Gordon gets a metal stake from out of his boot (which, really?) and presses the tip of it against Dan’s chest above his slowly beating heart. He grins maniacally, the murder enjoying freak, and pushes. Even through the haze of choking on his own blood, Dan can feel his ribs breaking under the weight of the hunter’s shove, and a tremble runs through him as the steel touches his heart.

In that last second Dan thinks he should have experienced some kind of epiphany, a calmness of some sort of his pitiful existence finally being over and done with, or his short life flashing before his eyes, or Phil’s face stuck behind his eyelids. But there’s only overwhelming fear as the universe screws him over once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, there's really a lot of blood in this fic..


	17. Chapter 17

Shifting back to his human form, the werewolf rolls in the dirt, landing on his belly and shaking with the electricity coursing through his body. Damn hunters and their fascination with tasers. Phil grunts, trying to lift himself up, but collapses right back, getting a mouthful of dirt for his efforts. Spitting out his late night snack, he at least raises his head and surveys his surroundings.

His pack are clearly exhausted. None of them expected the final showdown to happen so suddenly and without warning after one of their training sessions. However, there’s adrenalin pumping in their veins and the need to protect what’s theirs is keeping them from just collapsing and giving up.

Closest to Phil, Kate’s still tearing Claire apart. Phil curses at himself for that. He totally just froze in place when he saw the huntress and couldn’t do anything, too shocked. Maybe Dan’s right and Phil does have PTSD. Thank goodness for Kate and her quick reactions, otherwise Phil would be lying here with an arrow sticking out of his chest.

Turning his head to the left, Phil can see Kevin and Luke working together, both in beta shift. Nathan’s standing a little ways behind them, shooting arrows and throwing daggers, easily avoiding anyone that’s pack. However, Reina is most likely the most impressive out of them all. The witch stands on a boulder at the very edge of the fighting field, her hair swirling madly from a burst of wind that surrounds only her, and her eyes are glowing purple as she wields the elements to her will. Phil knows he’s gaping.

Only a few minutes have passed after Phil’s fall and the werewolf shakes himself, standing back up. He gets ready to make the full shift again but winces when his skin is nicked and the cut starts pulsing at once. Wolfsbane. Shit. The wolf growls, watching as blood trickles down his side and the wound doesn’t heal. Now he has to fight in his beta form, naked. Brilliant. That hardly deters him, though, and he’s back to throat slashing and belly ripping in no time.

Phil’s got a guy hanging off his claws when he hears his mate’s name being called in a desperate tone. The wolf focuses on the sound and his eyes skim the crowd when he finally sees Dan dropping to his knees, blood spurting out of his mouth, as a hunter with a sickeningly satisfied smirk stands over him. Phil’s heart skips a beat and he dumps the guy, ready to lunge and help his mate any way he can, but then he’s eating dirt again as a couple of hunters plough him down, making him howl when they use tasers on him. And Phil’s so sick of being electrocuted that he considers not using any electrical appliances ever again. Or he could just fucking rip the hunters apart. That works too.

By the time the werewolf is finished with those two and has the time to check on his mate, Dan’s on his back, eyes wide, as the hunter that pumped him full of bullets is driving a stake through his chest. Phil’s momentarily stunned and then he’s shouting Dan’s name, roaring, really, but he’s on the other side of the clearing, too far away, and in a split second Dan’s heart will burst.

However, Phil’s cries have caught the attention of his Alpha, who’s closest to Dan, and Eric doesn’t hesitate to tackle the hunter, growling as he sinks his teeth into the man’s throat. Then Anne’s on Dan, pulling the stake out of his chest with utmost care. But Dan’s not moving and the werewolf can’t hear his mate’s heartbeat or see his chest rise and fall as he breathes. It’s panic inducing and Phil doesn’t even react when his own name is being shouted.

Suddenly, he’s on the ground again with snarling and growling all around him. Phil flips over. He sees a large grey wolf by his side, a bullet wound of a large calibre torn through her chest. The wolf shifts back slowly and Kate’s naked form appears, her flesh bloodied and torn. She is completely still, eyes gazing into the sky. There’s no heartbeat.

All of the pack feel the connection snapping and all of them choke on air at the sudden and overwhelming feeling of loss. The wolves howl as one and then it’s all a blur.

***

Rain is falling heavy, splattering loudly against the windows. Thunder booms over the sound of it, extinguishing it for a moment, but then the droplets tumble down even louder as if compensating for the lost second when they couldn’t be heard. Dawn comes overcast and dreary, and doesn’t seem like the rain will let up any time soon.

Phil’s sitting on the floor in his Alpha’s lounge, staring at a coffee table corner, leaning against Olivia’s legs. The other beta is carding fingers through his hair. Phil can smell the salt of the tears still lingering in the room even though most of the crying stopped an hour or so ago. That scent is also accompanied by the smells of deep sadness and grief. Nobody talks. The only sound in the house is Reina upstairs, swearing and murmuring spells, trying to knit Dan’s heart back, so they wouldn’t lose another member of the pack.

Phil’s praying to any deity or a supreme overlord of the universe or whatever to keep his mate alive. Reina said that the hunter managed only to graze Dan’s heart which put the vampire in the in-between state, similar to when vampires are killed by any other means than beheading or staking. The problem is that his heart was affected and Dan won’t just wake up like after any other killing. The witch has to weave the heart back together, and it’s taking too much time, and Phil’s wolf is starting to panic again.

Exhaling slowly, the werewolf calms himself down slightly. The thread connecting him to his mate is taut but it hasn’t snapped yet. _Dan’s alive, he’s going to be fine, Reina’s a magic genius, she’ll figure this out_ , Phil tries to reassure himself. But his thoughts are murky at best as he hasn’t slept in at least thirty six hours and the grief radiating through the pack bonds is so all-consuming that he can’t manage to focus on anything for long.

So his mind jumps from topic to topic, heartache always thrumming at the back of his mind. It even intensifies when Phil’s mind generously supplies him with a very vivid version of talk he had with Dan before the fight with the hunters. Just the memory of it makes Phil shudder, a sickening feeling settling in his belly. His mate wants to break their bond and leave Phil hollow and bleeding and even in worse pain than what he’s feeling right now after losing one of his pack. His inner wolf howls and whimpers pitifully at the idea of losing their mate, and everything’s getting too much, so Phil closes his eyes.

He listens to the heartbeats and the breathing in the room, focusing on someone specific each time, comparing them to others, finding differences and similarities. Phil knows it’s a juvenile coping technique used for young werewolves but it makes him feel infinitely better. Well, at least as much as the situation allows for.

 _Fuck’s sake, this is all so fucked up_ , Phil thinks and sighs audibly.

The ring of the phone startles the werewolves and all eyes focus on Nathan. The human is running his fingers through Eric’s hair as the Alpha sits on the edge of the couch, face buried in his hands. Nate picks up the shrill device from where it rests on his thigh.

“It’s Kate’s parents,” he whispers and the Alpha whines, a wave of grief ripples through the pack bonds. Nathan presses his lips against Eric’s temple. “I’ll handle it,” he murmurs softly.

The Alpha’s mate stands up and leaves the room, his spot soon replaced by Marie who drapes herself over Eric’s back, seeking comfort from her Alpha and giving it back in return. Phil gulps and returns his gaze to the table corner. He doesn’t listen to Nathan’s conversation on the phone.

The beta hugs himself, pulling his knees closer to his chest. Olivia’s fingers slip to the nape of his neck, rubbing soothing circles. He wants to whimper. It was totally his fault, he thinks not for the first time during the past couple of hours. Phil was so worried about his mate that he froze in place for a second time that night and Kate jumped in front of him, also, for a second time that night, taking the bullet for him. If it weren’t for her, Phil would be the one lying wrapped in a sheet on the metal lab table in the basement. The werewolf trembles all over.

He can’t take Olivia consoling him anymore so he stands up and stumbles into the hall, feeling several pairs of eyes on him. But no one tries to stop him. Nathan’s sitting on the staircase, phone pressed firmly to his ear, head hanging low as he wipes at his cheeks with a shuddery breath.

“I’m so sorry, Robert,” he whispers, running a hand through his curly hair. “You know we did everything we could.”

Phil winces. He totally forgot that Kate has – had, Phil corrects himself mentally, breath catching, – other family besides the pack, her real family. He never really met her parents, they live too far away, but she always spoke about them with love and respect. Kate said they handled her being a werewolf as best they could, still inviting her over for holidays and welcoming any pack member that wanted to go with her. Most turned werewolves don’t get such luxury.

“I’ll take care of all the legal things,” Nathan’s shaky voice brings Phil out of his reverie. “I can arrange the funeral too if you’d prefer,” he pauses, waiting for Robert’s answer. “Yeah, okay. We’ll send someone to meet you at the airport. Alright. Bye,” he pulls the phone away and exhales heavily.

Nate lifts his head, meeting Phil’s eyes, and he smiles sadly. “It’s not your fault, you know,” he says softly after a moment of silence. “Pack protects each other. You would’ve done the same for her.”

Yeah, but she’s done it twice in one night for Phil.

Even more guilt churns in Phil’s belly at Nate’s words and the way he looks so totally exhausted. Nathan’s the only one who hasn’t had the chance to lose his head over this whole situation. He took care of them all first, making sure all their wounds were healed, assured and reassured them over and over again, and now he has to care of one of his pups’ funerals, and he’s still comforting Phil. The beta feels sick.

Phil only shakes his head, tears slipping over his cheeks, and Nathan’s instantly beside him, hugging him. The werewolf loses himself in the human’s embrace, his inner wolf whimpering at the calming effect of the Alpha’s mate’s touch. Suddenly, he can’t rein it in anymore and a sob wrecks his body. Nate shushes him gently, running fingers through his hair, and then another body presses against Phil’s. Soon the whole pack is in the hall, group-hugging and consoling each other.

A familiar slow beat has Phil’s senses on edge and his breath catching. Dan’s heart. Some tension leaves the wolf’s body at that. He’s mate is alive, they’re not losing another pack member. Reina’s a freaking magic genius.

The aforementioned witch appears on the top of the stairs. Her hands are bloody, cheeks red, eyes puffy and still watery. She looks drained. She’s been trying to sear the nick in Dan’s heart for over two hours now and clearly not in vain.

“He’s awake,” the witch murmurs softly, the ever-present exuberance muted. “You can see him now,” Reina directs the words at Phil but the werewolf knows that the whole pack will want to reassure themselves that the vampire is still alive. So he’s not even surprised when the whole lot of them follow him upstairs.

Dan’s sitting against the headboard, naked chest slathered in dried blood. He’s even paler than usual but his heart is beating and he’s smiling as best he can when he sees Phil. The werewolf near launches himself at his mate, snuggling into him, breathing in the familiar scent, making the vampire giggles at his nuzzling.

Phil’s totally ignoring the fight they had before the final showdown and how much Dan hurt him. He doesn’t want to even think about it when he has his mate back in his arms, safe and alive. He’ll deal with it later. Hopefully, a lot later, so later that Dan will have changed his mind about it by then. Which, not likely, but a werewolf can hope.

Then the whole pack is clambering onto the too small bed, all of them touching at least a sliver of Dan’s skin, reclaiming their scent and reassuring themselves that he’s alive.

“Wow, you really do love puppy piles,” the brunet mumbles, buried under a pile of wolves. He’s also got an arm around Phil and the wolf takes it as reassurance that not all is lost when it comes to their relationship.

“Shut up,” Marie murmurs into Dan’s shoulder, she’s on his left side while Phil’s on his right. “We thought you won’t wake up.”

“You doubted Reina?” The vampire asks, scandalous. “Has she smacked you for that?”

“I thought about it,” the witch says and Phil briefly lifts his head to see that she’s sitting cross-legged on the corner of the bed, avoiding the pile, but her lips twitch upwards.

Marie snorts at that. “I’d like to see you try,” she says smugly.

“I think we had enough fighting to last us a while,” Eric whispers from somewhere behind Marie, covered by Anne and Luke.

The pack falls silent. Only the sounds of fourteen beating hearts and fourteen people breathing filling the room. And it should be fifteen. Phil whimpers again.

“But we won, right?” Dan asks cautiously after a minute.

“After the pack went feral, there wasn’t much chance for hunters to survive,” Nathan answers him. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed behind Phil, still carding fingers through the beta’s hair.

“Feral?” The vampire lifts his head slightly to look at the human.

“It happens sometimes,” comes a response, Eric this time. “When the pack bonds snap.”

“What?” Dan furrows his brows, looking over them all. And then his breath hitches.

“Kate got shot,” Olivia explains, she’s lying over Dan’s shins on her belly, chin propped on her hands. Ethan and Seth are both halfway on her. “When she died, the pack bond, connecting us all to her, snapped. Like a thread being cut. We couldn’t control ourselves until Eric calmed us all down.”

“Kate’s dead?” The brunet murmurs disbelievingly.

“Yeah, thanks to your mate,” Sarah suddenly snarls, hopping off the bed.

Phil tenses up. He knew this was coming. Sarah couldn’t even look at him after she and Noah were briefed on what happened in the clearing. And he doesn’t even blame her.

“Sarah,” Eric warns gently, sitting up.

“No,” the girl near shouts and pulls her hand away when Kevin reaches for her. “Kate took a bullet meant for Phil. She didn’t just _get shot_ , she _took_ a bullet for him.”

“That’s what pack does,” Nathan repeats the words he said to Phil previously. “We protect each other.”

“If he was paying attention, she wouldn’t have had to do it,” Sarah fumes, glaring daggers at Phil. The werewolf never thought that the quiet girl could get this vocal. Or this angry.

“Sarah,” Kevin tries to reach for her again.

“Don’t touch me,” she orders him and storms out of the room.

Kevin sighs, standing up. He turns to Phil, saying, “Sorry. I’ll talk to her.” The beta doesn’t wait for an answer and leaves, going to find his twin.

“Fuck,” Dan sums it up quite nicely, his arm tightening around Phil’s middle.

Nobody says anything for a moment. Then Nathan moves off the bed.

“You haven’t eaten yet. I’ll make something,” he mumbles as he drags his hand over his hair. Clearly, the only coping mechanism he knows is taking care of everyone else’s needs.

“I’ll help,” Seth offers, clambering off of Olivia.

Soon the room is empty as the pack finds things to occupy themselves with. Only Dan and Phil are left on the bed, clinging onto each other.

“It’s not your fault,” Dan says into Phil’s hair.

“She jumped in front of me _twice_ , Dan,” Phil’s voice breaks as he tries to keep the tears at bay. “First I was shocked by seeing Claire there, and couldn’t fucking do _anything_. And then that guy was shoving a _stake_ into your chest and I was too distracted to notice a bullet coming towards me,” the wolf growls lowly, turning his head and burying his face into his mate’s neck.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” the vampire shushes him, fingers trailing up and down Phil’s back. “It was her choice. She chose to save you.”

Phil nearly laughs at the recurring theme in their conversations. For Dan it’s always about making your own choices, taking control of your own life, not letting the universe or whatever decide for you. Phil, however, likes the idea that the big decisions are made for him. Maybe it’s in his, as a beta’s, nature, but he feels more secure knowing that some things in his life are fixed, predetermined, that the universe has a plan for him, that there’s a reason certain things happen, that it’s not just coincidences and chaos.

But maybe he’s being naïve. Maybe there is no reason or plan. If there were then what’s the reason for Kate’s death? Why is it Phil getting all the second chances and not her? Why is it him clinging to his mate when Kate never got the chance to even tell Sarah how she feels? Phil idly wonders if it’s the universe’s fucked up way of telling them to keep their relationship and make the most of it as, clearly, either of them could be gone at any point.

The werewolf nuzzles at his mate again. The pack bonds are thrumming with misery and sorrow, and he whimpers softly as does his inner wolf. His mate holds him closer, kissing his hair, and Phil pretends that Dan doesn’t want to inflict even worse pain on him by breaking a once-in-a-lifetime connection a werewolf can have with any other living being, and that his mate is here to stay. The deception works quite well on his mind and he finally drifts off.

***

When he wakes up, it’s still pouring outside. The bedside clock is showing that it’s ten forty a.m. He’s alone in the room.

Phil flips onto his back, staring at the white ceiling. The werewolf takes a few calming breaths, helped by his mate’s scent that settles his wolf, and gets up. He goes downstairs, to the kitchen where several voices can be heard speaking softly, but not the whole pack as the majority of werewolves are out cold in their rooms, finally getting some much needed rest.

The beta stops in the doorway, hand on the doorframe while he looks around. Dan’s sitting by the bar, Reina’s on his left, and Eric and Nathan are standing in front of him. The Alpha pair look like they’ve seen better days, Eric has to basically hold Nate up even though he himself seems about to collapse, and Phil wonders why they’re not just going to get some sleep.

“Have you heard of this thing called ‘resting’?” Phil says, looking pointedly at Nathan. “Helps you not look like utter crap. Totally recommend.”

“Oh, ha ha,” the human rolls his green eyes which are now red-rimmed from tiredness. “You should do stand-up.”

Phil cracks a smile as he approaches them, standing behind Dan and leaning on his shoulders. The wolf nuzzles at his mate’s neck, purring in contentment. He knows he’s acting kind of clingy but he really needs the physical comfort.

“What were you talking about?” The werewolf inquires, lifting his head. “And why can’t it wait until you two are functioning properly?” He raises an eyebrow at his Alpha and his mate.

They all exchange glances, and Phil’s suddenly suspicious. Surprisingly, it’s Reina who answers him with, “Dan told us about wanting to break your bond.”

“That’s,” Phil begins, stepping back from the vampire and to the side so he could see his face if they’re about to discuss what he thinks they’re about to discuss, “kind of personal.”

He gives Dan a look of ‘What the hell? Why would you tell that to my _Alpha_ of all people?’. Phil likes to think he’s got very expressive looks.

“We just got to talking with Nathan,” Dan shrugs his shoulders, glancing down guiltily. “And then Reina had to make it her business,” he glares at the witch.

Reina punches his shoulder, glaring back.

“Of course, it’s my business, you dickwad,” she says. “You already broke one bond and now you want to break two more. You could _die_. And not the vampire equivalent of dying. Like, for real and serious kind of dying,” she furrows her brows, crossing her arms.

“Could doesn’t mean I will,” Dan rolls his eyes. “It’s a fifty-fifty chance, you said so yourself.”

“Basically,” Eric interjects before they can go all out on the arguing, “we’ve been trying to convince Dan not to. I’ve explained him what it would do to you as a were, and what the bond means in the first place. I don’t think you did a very good job of telling him about that,” he smirks at Phil, and now the beta is the one rolling his eyes.

Well, excuse Phil for not wanting to spring on his mate that for a werewolf mating is for life, that he’d lose the will to live if Dan was suddenly out of his life for good. He couldn’t explain it better to Dan because the vampire would have run for the hills without the promise of coming back; he’s _that_ bad with commitment. Phil was just looking out for him, not wanting to stress him unnecessarily. Seems like the cat’s out of the bag now – or, well, wolf, – and Dan’s not running. Yet.

“Yeah, Phil,” the vampire suddenly agrees with his Alpha. “Why didn’t you tell me you could go feral if we broke the bond?” Dan’s frowning at him.

“We didn’t exactly have much time to discuss this,” Phil reminds him.

“Technicality,” Dan mumbles.

“The point is,” Nate says, a yawn interrupting him, “that Dan now knows of all the dangers involved in performing the ritual.” The human meets the vampire’s eyes. “This is a serious decision. It’s only been a month, and a really shitty one at that, since you’ve lived with the bond, give it more time. Believe me,” he exchanges glances with Eric who gives him a small smile.

Dan nods a couple of times, gnawing on his lip. Phil’s inner wolf urges him to console their mate, make the worrying disappear by any means necessary. It doesn’t understand that it’s mostly them who’s making their mate worried. A problem without a solution.

“Thanks,” the brunet says to the Alpha pair.

“No problem,” Nate smirks. “I’m a well of wisdom and I love sharing it with one and all.”

Phil snorts at the words. “A well of wisdom?” He teases good-naturedly. “Your mate’s delusional and rambly. He seriously needs some sleep,” Phil tells Eric as Nathan huffs indignantly at the words.

“Your beta needs to learn some manners,” Nate counters, leaning heavier on the Alpha werewolf.

“You’re both ridiculous,” Eric deadpans and then tugs Nathan with himself as he steps back. “Come on, we’re going to bed.”

The human only hums in answer, already closing his eyes, and Eric has to nearly carry him out of the kitchen. Phil waits a few beats, staring pointedly at Reina but the witch is not moving. The werewolf huffs and glances at his mate.

“You still want to go through with it?” He asks carefully, his heart speeding up and clenching painfully even at the notion that Dan wants to get rid of him so badly.

“I,” the brunet ruffles his hair and then sighs. “I don’t know what I want,” he admits quietly. “I guess, that’s the problem.”

Phil slides his hand over the countertop, entwining his fingers with Dan’s. The werewolf takes a few seconds to collect his thoughts and then glances back up at the vampire.

“I’m nothing like Natalie, Dan,” he says softly. “I won’t use the bond to keep you by my side or anything like that. If you really want to,” Phil near whispers, swallows down his nerves and tries to stop his heart from shattering into a bazillion sharp pieces scratching at his insides, “we can break it.”

Dan holds onto his hand tighter. The wolf can hear the brunet’s heart hitting overdrive too.

“I’m giving you the control,” Phil continues. “You make the decision.”

“You’d trust me with that?” Dan murmurs, glancing at Phil over his lashes, and Phil’s not for the first time stunned how gorgeous his mate is.

“I’m not the one risking dying,” the werewolf shrugs a shoulder, trying to play nonchalant. He doesn’t think he’s quite succeeding but Dan takes his bait.

“And I’m not the one who’s risking shifting into a wolf for the rest of his life and losing himself completely,” the vampire raises an eyebrow.

Phil just shrugs a shoulder. He doesn’t want to tell Dan that the werewolf wouldn’t be able to live his life fully without his mate, that it would be torture to be reminded every day of what could have been; Phil doesn’t want to scare him even more as Dan seems to have quite a few commitment issues as it is.

Reina groans next to Dan, casting her eyes upwards as if asking for strength from the heavens. Then she looks at them, completely unimpressed.

“You can’t make appropriate decisions for shit,” the witch points at the vampire, “no matter how much you want to. You,” she jabs her finger in Phil’s direction, “are too self-sacrificing and generous to this jerkface,” Reina nods her head at Dan. “So I’ll be gracious here and decide for the two of you.”

“Reina,” the vampire starts interrupting, shaking his head.

“Shut it, Howell,” the girl crosses her arms again. “Now, what you’re gonna do is wait. Like Nathan said, give it time. You’re gonna nurture and make this relationship flourish like some fucking orchid that’s been pampered beyond appropriate because this guy,” she glances at Phil before focusing back on Dan, “is the best thing that’s happened to you in your life.”

Dan wants to argue again, opening his mouth, but Reina scowls and flicks him on the forehead. Phil totally doesn’t snicker. Nope. And Dan totally doesn’t glare at him for the not snickering.

“Did I say I was finished?” She asks. “While you’ll be making your werewolf marriage thing work, I’ll be busy researching how to solve your little problem. Sound good?”

“Rei, you don’t have to do this –” But the witch doesn’t allow him to finish that sentence either.

“You’re doubting my ability to fix this?” Reina’s eyebrows try to reach her hairline. “After all the times I saved your ass? I literally magicked your heart back together, have a little more faith in me.”

“I do have faith in you,” the vampire insists, running his free hand through his hair. “But I don’t think research will help here. Garrett said our situation is unique and I’m pretty bent on believing him.”

“Then I’ll make a spell that will fix this,” Reina says passionately. “Give me a year. Deal?” She extends her hand to Dan.

The brunet glances at Phil who shrugs again, he’s giving the control to Dan. Sighing, Dan shakes Reina’s hand. The witch grins brightly.

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” she says, hopping off the chair, “I have things to do and people to see.”

Reina ruffles Dan’s hair as she passes him and the vampire squeaks, batting at her as she cackles, leaving the room. Finally, it’s only the two of them left. Phil tugs at Dan’s fingers, catching his attention.

“We don’t have to do this according to Reina’s rules,” Phil tells him.

“I know,” Dan smiles softly. “But I think I want to wait. I want to work harder on this,” he lifts their intertwined hands, “on us.”

And who’s Phil to deny his mate anything? Especially when it makes even his inner wolf yip in happiness and his own heart flutter with hope that maybe their relationship isn’t as doomed as it might seem. Maybe they really can make this werewolf marriage thing work.

“Alright,” the werewolf smiles back, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on the vampire’s lips.

***

The two of them sit on the back porch swing that sways lightly. It’s later in the day and the rain just doesn’t stop, heavy clouds are muting the afternoon light. The backyard is nearly flooding, short blades of grass drowning in the muddy water. The humidity makes Dan’s hair curl adorably, the vampire scowls at that and swears at Mother Nature. Phil’s playing with the brown locks between his fingers as Dan has his head in the wolf’s lap.

They’ve been talking for hours about everything and nothing, both of them tired of serious topics, and just rambling about movies and music, their school experiences and family holidays, and anything else that came to mind. Phil felt how Dan became increasingly more and more relaxed. The werewolf nearly purred, glad that his mate is able to feel comfortable and secure around him.

Now Phil can hear his pack stirring back to life. Seth’s grumbling about Anne taking too long in the shower. Nathan’s walking downstairs to make food for everyone, Phil’s got no doubts about that, there is a reason why he’s the pack mom. Marie’s falling out of her bed, either startling herself awake and flopping onto the ground, or having tangled herself in the sheets and trying to get out of bed with them wrapped around her and tripping over herself; both things are known to have happened. Most of the pack are still sleeping, though.

“When are you going back to work?” Dan mumbles, eyes closed as he enjoys Phil’s ministrations.

Yeah, that. The werewolf scrunches up his nose.

“I think I’m gonna have to find a new job,” he admits. “The whole being kidnapped and tortured by hunters thing is not a reason I can give my manager for skipping a week of work. I’m pretty sure I’m fired. Maybe I should give them a call,” he muses, voice drifting as he wonders how that conversation would go.

Dan snorts but doesn’t open his eyes. “You haven’t called them yet?”

“I’ve been busy,” Phil protests, indignantly.

Dan only hums in reply. They settle back into comfortable silence, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain and far away grumblings of thunder. After a couple of minutes, Phil hears someone entering the mudroom and approaching the porch door. He tenses up when he recognises the heartbeat, and Dan opens his eyes, sitting up.

Sarah stops in the doorway, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe, facing them. Her puffy and reddened eyes are cast down, inspecting the wooden decking. She’s hugging herself.

“I wanted to apologise,” the girl near whispers, not looking at either of them.

But Phil’s already shaking his head. “It’s fine, I understand,” he says.

Sarah finally glances at him and then at Dan before turning her head to look at the rain.

“It’s just not fair,” she murmurs as if to herself. And Phil totally agrees with her. It isn’t fair that he’s here instead of Kate, that he’s enjoying the company of his mate and she’s not.

The werewolf gnaws on his lip for a second, hating that the grief rippling through the pack bonds is becoming familiar. He stands up, going closer to the girl, but Sarah steps back, shaking her head, tears welling in her eyes.

“I’m sorry but I can’t be near you right now,” she sweeps a curl of hair behind her ear, eyes inadvertently going to Dan before meeting Phil’s again. “I’ll leave you to it,” Sarah whispers and then steps inside, closing the door.

Phil’s wolf whimpers, wanting to console their pack mate, but Phil himself doesn’t run after her, he knows she needs space for the time being. So he turns back around and returns to his seat by Dan’s side. The vampire envelops him in a hug, planting a soft kiss on his temple.

“You never told me how you got turned,” the brunet mumbles into Phil’s hair as his hand glides up and down the werewolf’s back.

Phil would be grateful for the topic change if it weren’t something he didn’t want to talk about either. So he just shrugs and succinctly explains, “An Alpha attacked us when I was camping in the woods with my family. He killed all of them and I got the bite. Later, he said he liked me most so that’s why he kept me.”

Dan winces at his words. “Shit, sorry, Phil,” he says hurriedly. “I’m really not good at distractions.”

Phil snorts but doesn’t comment, thinking of a distraction of his own. And he’s an idiot for not thinking about that earlier. Ugh, he’s the worst mate. The wolf pulls away from his mate’s hug, turning to him slightly.

“You haven’t fed yet,” Phil reminds Dan, offering his wrist.

“Oh,” the vampire seems surprised that he forgot about that too. Or maybe it’s the sudden subject change. “Right,” he mutters, encircling Phil’s wrist with his fingers. Then Dan glances up at him, stalling. “You sure you wanna do it this way? After the whole bond debacle?”

Phil thinks Dan’s referring to the whole intimacy of drinking blood straight from the vein thing. But they already talked about their previous fight and settled their differences. Phil’s forgiven Dan easily enough and doesn’t have qualms about being intimate with him. At least, not in this way.

“I’m sure,” the wolf offers the brunet a smile. “We’re good.”

Dan grins back like before he wasn’t convinced Phil had forgiven him and hearing that they’re fine has made his year or something. Yeah, maybe working on their communication skills should be their top priority.

The vampire then looks down at the werewolf’s arm in his hands. His eyes turn black at the edges, he opens his mouth with already sharpened teeth. Dan brings Phil’s forearm closer to his face and tears at the flesh as gingerly as he can but the wolf still lets out a soft gasp at the prickle of pain when his veins are split open and the blood starts flowing into the vampire’s mouth.

A moan slips past Phil’s lips when the bliss finally hits him. His skin starts burning even hotter than usually, and that’s way hot for a werewolf. Dan’s cold fingers are the only thing grounding him to reality so Phil focuses on their contact points, seeking more. His fingers find their way into Dan’s hair and down his nape. Then he’s leaning forward and nuzzling at the vampire’s neck, his inner wolf sighing in happiness.

After a couple of minutes, Dan’s drawing back, licking over the wounds he inflicted and making them seal faster. And then that wonderful tongue is in Phil’s mouth, both of them groaning in pleasure. The werewolf tugs at his mate, letting out a needy noise. Dan quickly catches on with the program and straddles Phil’s thighs, fingers tangling in his hair.

Phil himself lets his hands wander for a bit before slipping them past the hem of Dan’s shirt, exploring the cold skin. The vampire shivers and presses closer to him, keening. Phil smirks. He removes his lips from Dan’s and peppers kisses over his cheeks, his jawline, finally settling on sucking a bruise onto his neck. As always, it doesn’t stay and makes the wolf pout.

Dan only laughs at that. He tugs at Phil’s hair, bringing their mouths closer together. The wolf bites at his mate’s bottom lip in retaliation but the vampire only huffs in amusement. They resume the make-out session, now also accompanied by a side of grinding and trembles of pleasure, as they finish riding down the ecstasy from the blood drinking.

Phil pecks Dan’s lips a few times in a row, just soft quick kisses that make his mate giggle and Phil grin. The werewolf presses his nose into the vampire’s throat, breathing in the familiar and calming scent. All will be well in the world as long as Phil will have Dan by his side. His inner wolf yips in agreement with that thought.

“I love you,” Phil mumbles into Dan’s skin and is over the moon when the vampire doesn’t even flinch from the confession.

“I know,” Dan says softly, lifting Phil’s head by his chin and smiling at him.

The wolf connects their lips again, relishing in the moment. Dan might not be able to admit his feelings to Phil but Phil’s happy enough to just have him here, to have the promise that Dan will stay, that they have a chance of making this work. And Phil will make goddamn sure that they make this work.

Then they’re interrupted by the back door swinging open. Olivia steps outside, followed by Marie and Seth. The female betas stretch their arms, still yawning, and Seth sneezes. Then they’re all wrinkling their noses and focusing on the pair that are tangled up in each other on the swing.

“Woah,” Marie directs them a raised eyebrow.

“There are plenty of rooms upstairs,” Olivia remarks in turn.

“Maybe they’re secretly exhibitionists?” Seth grins. “Like, I could get that about Phil but you, Dan,” the beta shakes his head.

The vampire bursts into laughter and Phil only rolls his eyes. Trust his pack to ruin a perfectly wonderful moment. His _life_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaannd we're done!! Thanks to everyone for your sweet comments and reading this!! :3  
> ((p.s. there might be an epilogue if I'm not too lazy to write it but don't hold me to it))


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the cherry on top of the cake that was this fic. I'm totally done now, promise.

It’s a bright summer morning, topped with the whole cliché of chirping birds and sunlight creeping in through the gap in the curtains. The air is too warm, and Dan’s already kicked off the blankets, leaving his naked ass out in the open. Not that it helped as he’s got a hot (literally as much as figuratively) werewolf clinging to him, warming up his cold skin. But Dan’s not complaining.

Sleepily, he watches as the sunrays get closer and closer to the bed. Such lazy mornings are his favourite; they don’t usually get many of those. The vampire extends his arm, fingertips fluttering in the sunlight, and smiles. He’s been drinking only Phil’s blood for nearly a year now, and he no longer has to succumb to his nightly nature as a vampire. One of the perks of having a werewolf boyfriend.

Said werewolf boyfriend stirs atop Dan, mumbling something into the vampire’s shoulder. Dan retracts his hand, stuffing it beneath his pillow and burrowing his face into it. He wants this to last as long as possible since later today should not be particularly fun.

A few minutes pass as Phil slowly wakes up. Dan smiles into his pillow when butterfly kisses start landing on his shoulders and spine. Phil trails his fingers down Dan’s sides, slipping his hands under Dan’s ribs and hugging him tightly, now completely on top of the vampire.

“Morning,” Phil murmurs into Dan’s skin.

“Hi,” Dan answers, glancing over his shoulder briefly, but Phil’s too busy leaving open mouthed kisses on Dan’s back to notice so the vampire once again buries his head into the sheets.

The brunet hums appreciatively as Phil’s fingers start trailing up and down his body while the werewolf mouths at his spine. Dan closes his eyes, simply enjoying the attention.

Phil licks and nips and kisses his way down Dan’s back, making the vampire shiver and moan softly in pleasure. His hands glide over the small of Dan’s back, the swell of his ass, down his thighs, as Phil sits up, drawing back from Dan. The vampire makes a noise of complaint at that but squeaks as the werewolf bites him on the ass. Literally. And a bit painfully. But it startles a laugh out of the vampire.

Soon Dan’s on his back, still giggling slightly, staring into Phil’s golden eyes. Phil’s careful about wolfing out around Dan, afraid it’ll scare him or some bullshit even though Dan assured him plenty of times that Phil’s beta shift doesn’t bother him. Actually, having completely wild unrestrained sex with Phil is one of Dan’s biggest fantasies. He can already imagine how they’d wreck all the furniture and turn the room into a complete disaster.

But it’s not what Phil’s going for this morning. Not that Dan minds. All sex with Phil is mind-blowing and generally the best thing Dan had the pleasure of experiencing. And maybe he’ll think of a way to talk Phil into losing control some time.

For now, though, Dan’s enjoying Phil’s lips on his inner thigh, his fingers stroking Dan’s calves. He sighs, completely at ease. Running his eyes over Phil’s pale skin and the mop of his dark hair, Dan reaches for him, tangling his fingers in those messy strands. He tugs at the hair and the werewolf lifts his head, a lazy smile on his lips.

Phil crawls up Dan’s body willingly enough, their lips meshing clumsily at first before Dan takes the lead and licks into Phil’s mouth. The vampire nips at his lover’s bottom lip, a shiver running down the wolf’s body and a groan escaping his mouth. Dan smirks. He pushes at Phil’s shoulder and they switch positions. It’s rare that Dan gets to be on top, Phil’s werewolf nature is rather dominant, especially in bed. Dan doesn’t mind it much, he likes to be taken care of, but right now he’s got other plans.

The vampire kisses down the wolf’s neck, biting gently from time to time, making Phil’s fingers dig into Dan’s hips. Dan leaves a bruise on Phil’s clavicle, pulling away slightly to watch it disappear after a few seconds. He huffs.

“All that work for nothing,” he mutters, shaking his head mock disappointed.

Phil laughs lightly, eyes crinkling adorably, and Dan smiles back. He leans forward and kisses him, deviating from the plan just because. Then he’s back to business.

Dan drags his lips over Phil’s chest, latching onto a nipple and playing with it until Phil’s breathing heavier than before. Smirking, the vampire gives the same attention to the other nipple before continuing on his journey down Phil’s body. He circles the werewolf’s bellybutton with his tongue, stroking his hands up and down Phil’s thighs, making his hips buck up a couple of times. Dan trails kisses to Phil’s hip, biting and sucking at the flesh there.

“Come on, Dan,” the werewolf honest to god whines.

Dan looks up. Phil’s pouting. And the vampire can’t hold in the laugh that bubbles up inside him. “Don’t you know that patience is a virtue?” Dan mocks, his lips still curled into a smile.

Phil rolls his eyes. “Don’t you know that I want your mouth on my dick like yesterday?” He quirks up an eyebrow. “Hurry up,” he whines again, lifting his hips off the mattress, eyes flashing gold for a second.

“So bossy,” Dan mumbles to himself but complies nevertheless.

He teases just for a bit longer, kissing and licking the skin of Phil’s pelvis, only to hear the frustrated noises the werewolf makes. Finally, Dan takes him into his mouth, humming around him. Phil releases the most delicious moan, fingers clutching onto Dan’s curls.

Dan’s already an expert at blowing Phil. He knows exactly what the other likes, what drives him over the edge, what keeps him just at the precipice. And he gladly uses that knowledge to drive his boyfriend crazy.

The brunet’s slowly licking the underside of Phil’s cock and over his own fingers as he’s simultaneously stroking him. Then he suckles at the head before swallowing as much of him as he can. The wolf is writhing beneath him, and Dan has to push at his hips with his free hand to keep him somewhat still. As Dan does everything that he knows will push Phil over to the verge of orgasm, he glances up. Their eyes meet. Phil’s golden once again and Dan’s are blackening at the edges.

The vampire pulls off with an obscene pop, his hand still working. He licks over his lips and Phil’s eyes zero in on the motion. Lips quirking upwards, Dan whispers, “Come on, Phil, come for me.” The werewolf finally loses himself, and orgasms with Dan’s name tumbling out of his mouth over and over again.

Dan strokes him through the pleasure until Phil grunts slightly, asking for Dan to stop. The vampire does so quickly, and then wipes his hand on the sheets. He crawls over his heavily breathing boyfriend, and settles next to him, leaning over, kissing his lips softly. Phil hums slightly, his arm coming around Dan’s middle to bring him closer.

“Good?” Dan asks against the other’s lips.

“The best,” Phil answers him, smiling contentedly.

So Dan kisses him again, slowly and thoroughly. Their hands start to wander again, and Dan’s not surprised to find Phil massaging his own cum into Dan’s skin, effectively marking him for at least a few days. The vampire rolls his eyes. _Werewolves_.

Suddenly he’s on his back again, Phil’s hovering over him.

“Roll over for me?” Phil asks, eyes raking down Dan’s body, smirking as he breathes in their mingled scents.

The vampire trembles in answer, and quickly does as asked. Phil reaches over to the bedside table, snatching the bottle that sits there, and dropping it next to them on the bed.

This time Phil works his way up. First, Dan’s sure of it, he leaves a mark on Dan’s buttocks, then on his side, and on his spine. The wolf’s hands never leave his body, caressing every inch of skin available. It’s already making Dan gyrate his hips, seeking friction from the mattress. Phil growls at that, slapping Dan’s ass lightly. The vampire frowns into the pillow but acquiesces and stays still. Well, still- _ish_. He can’t help but squirm from time to time at Phil’s ministrations but Phil lets it slide.

After torturously long several minutes, when Phil’s already licked and kissed every part of Dan that he wanted, he pulls away. Dan whines his protest but shuts up as the cap of a bottle clicks open. The vampire settles back, spreading his legs even wider.

Phil’s back on him in no time, nuzzling at his nape, his slicked up fingers sliding between Dan’s cheeks. The brunet moans as the first finger slips past his rim, and unconsciously grinds his hips into the mattress. Then Phil’s arm is around his middle, lifting him up on his hands and knees. Dan’s limbs are trembling slightly but he holds himself up as best he can while Phil’s opening him up.

The wolf is mumbling nonsense words into Dan’s skin, fingers working inside of him, making a wreck out of Dan. Phil kisses over the small of Dan’s back, stroking the pad of his finger just over the right spot, and Dan’s breath stutters.

“Phil,” the vampire moans the name lewdly. “Th-there, ri-right there,” he says brokenly, pressing the side of his face into his bicep, trying to breathe.

“Shh,” Phil shushes him, dragging his lips over the width of Dan’s shoulders. “I’ll take care of you,” he whispers into Dan’s ear, biting at the lobe and making Dan groan. “My mate,” a rumble from deep within Phil’s chest accompanies the words and Dan can imagine his eyes glowing golden.

Phil places an open mouthed kiss on the brunet’s shoulder blade, and Dan whimpers again when Phil’s fingers caress that spot once more.

“Mine,” the werewolf growls lowly, biting at the nape of Dan’s neck but gentle enough to not break the skin.

“Yes, okay, yours,” the vampire huffs impatiently, rolling his hips, making them both groan. “Now would you get on with it and fuck me?” He glances over his shoulder, smirking. “Come on, mark me, Phil. Let everyone know I’m your _mate_ ,” Dan whispers. After a year of this he knows what buttons to push to get what he wants from Phil. The words, of course, work instantly.

The werewolf licks over the bite mark he left and slides his fingers out of Dan. But Dan doesn’t have much time to mourn the loss as something better replaces them. The head of Phil’s cock pushes past his rim, and Dan bites onto his lip, choking on a moan.

Phil’s fingers dig into Dan’s hips as the werewolf fucks into him frustratingly slowly. So Dan pushes back, making little exasperated sounds. But Phil simply huffs in amusement and ignores Dan’s demands of ‘harder, Phil, for fuck’s sake’. The werewolf builds it up leisurely, increasing the pleasure bit by bit, and totally grinding on Dan’s nerves.

“Come on,” the vampire pants out demandingly not for the first time.

“Now who’s bossy,” Phil licks up a stripe over Dan’s skin where he can reach.

“I’m so getting you back for this,” Dan threatens, though it doesn’t sound very menacing as a moan interrupts him.

Phil laughs at that, the sound doing all kinds of weird things to them both, considering the way they’re connected. Tugging Dan up, Phil latches onto the side of his neck. Dan gasps at the change of position and the angle, and immediately groans loudly in pleasure. Phil smirks against his skin. The vampire can’t hold back any longer and his own hand, which is now free as he doesn’t have to keep himself up any longer, slides to his crotch, gripping his neglected dick and stroking satisfyingly a couple of times. But Phil growls, batting Dan’s hand away, and not even replacing it with his own.

“You’re no fun,” the brunet manages to rasp out.

And then he’s eating his pillow as Phil pushes him down forcefully, driving into him harder and harder. Dan’s cock finally gets some well-deserved friction, and Dan gets his desired hard pounding. It’s bliss. The vampire’s fingers grasp the sheets tightly, his vision blurs at the corners as black leaches into his eyes. He gasps out Phil’s name as he comes, and he can’t be sure but he probably mumbles out some other nonsense as he floats around all weightless and satisfied.

Phil fucks into him a few more times before biting onto the junction between Dan’s shoulder and his neck, having the second orgasm of the day. The werewolf rolls his hips for a bit longer, and then pulls out, collapsing onto Dan. He hums, content, and nuzzles at Dan’s neck.

Dan lets himself relax, enjoy the comforting weight of his boyfriend covering him. He closes his eyes, unconsciously matching his breathing to Phil’s, listening to his slowing heartbeat and feeling it against his back. Dan thinks he would be completely happy to spend the rest of his eternity like this. _Though_ , he scrunches up his nose, _maybe not_. The wet patch under his belly is rather distracting, and he would very much like a shower and something to eat.

“Stop squirming,” Phil drags his teeth over Dan’s skin. But the words lack any real heat behind them.

“Ugh,” Dan huffs in answer, opening his eyes and checking the clock. “We’ll be late. Again.”

“Worth it,” the wolf licks over Dan’s earlobe and nips at it.

“You’re a sap,” the vampire laughs. “We really need to get going,” he says and pushes off the bed half-heartedly.

“Your enthusiasm is so catchy,” Phil smiles against his skin. But he clambers off Dan and helps him get up, catching him by the hips and pressing a kiss to his lips.

“See?” Dan mumbles against his mouth before pecking him a few times. “Totally sappy.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Phil rolls his eyes and herds Dan into the bathroom.

They manage to shower without too much groping which is a real achievement for them because usually one of them ends up pressed against the wall and fucked. But they’re in a hurry today so restraint is pushed to the limits.

After throwing on some clothes on his barely dry skin, Dan hops downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of Phil’s blood from the fridge, and a couple of energy bars from a cupboard. He throws one at Phil when the werewolf trudges downstairs, hair still damp and pushed up instead of the usual fringe.

“Sexy,” Dan smirks, running his fingers through the locks when he meets Phil by the door.

“Aren’t I always?” The wolf lifts an eyebrow, grabbing the keys from the table near the exit.

“Hmm,” Dan hums, considering it briefly. “True,” he admits and Phil laughs lightly.

Then they’re out the door at record speed and hurrying to Phil’s car. It’s Saturday so there’s not a lot of traffic and Dan thinks that they might even make it on time. The vampire is already finished with the blood and is munching on the energy bar when they cross the town line, making good time.

They reach Eric’s house only ten minutes late. Phil parks next to Ethan and Anne’s bikes, the only available space as they’re last to come. _Let the teasing begin_ , Dan thinks ruefully.

“You’re late,” is the first thing Dan hears as he enters the house, Phil behind him. “Again,” Eric appears in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed.

“Totally Phil’s fault,” the vampire says on reflex. “He started it.”

The beta huffs behind Dan, pushing at his shoulder. Dan grins at him.

“I don’t want to know the details,” Eric shakes his head, his pointer and thumb gripping the bridge of his nose. “It’s enough that I can smell it.”

Dan’s grin wavers as he’s reminded of that little tidbit.

“Ugh,” Seth passes past them, going into the kitchen. “You probably couldn’t keep it in your pants if your life depended on it,” he wrinkles his nose, looking over the two of them.

The vampire rolls his eyes, following the youngest beta and messing up his hair. Seth squeaks indignantly, dancing away from Dan and fixing what the vampire ruined. Dan doesn’t see much difference.

He plops down next to Marie, grabbing a toast off her plate and nibbling on it. The werewolf glares at him. “Get your own damn plate, Howell,” she mumbles and stands up, taking her plate with her.

Dan lifts en eyebrow, glancing at Olivia who’s sitting in front of him.

“Full moon,” the beta says, shrugging a shoulder, as if that explains everything. And yeah, Dan totally forgot how weird Marie gets on these days.

Phil joins them then, stealing Dan’s already stolen toast and taking a huge bite. Dan protests only half-heartedly.

“So what’s the plan for today?” The vampire asks no one in particular.

“Lots of running and bonding,” Olivia answers. “The usual.”

***

The summer evening is hot and stuffy; it got increasingly warmer throughout the day, uncomfortably so. The sun has already started its descent, and the sky is starting to drip with reds, pinks, and oranges. As the light is slowly leached out from the world, the heat goes unwillingly with it. But slow enough to still be clinging to the skin since there’s not even a breeze to help disperse it faster.

Dan’s sitting on the porch steps of his Alpha’s house. Sweat is rolling down his nape and he frowns, shifting in place uncomfortably. The rest of the werewolves aren’t fairing any better; they’re lying around on the grass or on the deck, panting heavily. They finished another round of running around the woods like madmen. But the heat wave is warning them off another one, and they’re all a bit testy with the extra energy and no way to expel it.

“I will rip your throat out with my teeth if you don’t fucking stop fidgeting, Howell,” Ethan growls, sending Dan a death glare from his perch on the porch rail.

Phil growls from in front of Dan where he’s lying on a step, defending his mate and flashing his golden eyes at the other werewolf. But Dan’s not a damsel in distress and he can deal with assholes like Ethan on his own.

“I am sitting completely still, Monroe,” the vampire glares back, turning slightly in his seat so he could look directly at the werewolf.

“You are tapping your fingers and it’s driving me crazy,” the beta flashes his electric blue eyes, snarling.

“Oh my god,” Dan exclaims, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Am I breathing too loud too?”

Ethan makes another animalistic noise, standing up, but Anne hits him upside the head. He turns to her with wide eyes.

“Your snarling is driving _me_ crazy,” the female beta says, fanning herself with a hand; it doesn’t seem to be helping at all.

“Can everybody just. _Shut_. _Up_ ,” Marie’s voice rumbles kind of muffled as she has her face pressed into the grass. Her mood has not changed since this morning. Dan really hates full-moon Marie; she’s kind of a pain in the ass.

“Why don’t you have an a/c installed?” Dan wonders aloud, leaning back on his hands.

“Because Eric’s a cheap bastard,” Seth replies. He rolls onto his back on the ground, starfishing.

“We should nag him until he installs one,” Marie says into the grass. “It worked with the wi-fi thing.”

“You do realise that I can hear you,” Eric marches onto the porch, all scowls and crossed arms. Nobody reacts.

“Your pups are drama queens,” Nathan states, looking over all of them. But he’s got a tray with ice cold lemonade on it, and is soon enveloped in werewolves.

Phil fights the hard battle for Dan and emerges victorious from the pile with two glasses of the drink. Dan’s smiling up at him and reaching for the offered glass when Ethan purposefully, Dan’s a hundred per cent sure about this, knocks into Phil, jostling him, which sends the contents of the glass spilling down Dan’s back, effectively soaking him.

“Shit, sorry, Dan,” Phil apologises immediately, eyes wide.

“Not your fault,” the vampire says calmly, watching as Ethan is trying to swallow his laughter, his shoulders shaking.

Dan stands up, takes the second glass from Phil, and without much preamble, throws it all onto Ethan. He smirks as mint leaves and lemon slices slide down the beta’s face. Growling, the werewolf flashes his bright blue eyes at Dan.

“You better run, Howell,” Ethan snarls out, advancing on him as Dan’s stepping backwards down the steps of the porch, a grin still in place on his face.

“I swear to god, they’re like children,” the vampire hears Nathan mumble, accompanied by a little exasperated sigh.

Dan takes up Ethan’s advice as an idea strikes him. In a flash, he’s beside the corner of the house, grabbing the hose used to water Kevin’s little flower beds, and turning it full on. Before Ethan can attack him, Dan turns the stream his way, cackling in glee as the werewolf gets soaked.

The beta is momentarily stunned, shivering from the cold water. But he regains composure soon enough, roaring, and Dan finds himself rolling in the dirt with a werewolf. The water is still running, spraying all over them, dampening the earth beneath them.

Dan has no idea how it happened but one moment he’s struggling to push Ethan with his wolfy fangs off of himself and the next he’s lying under a pile of giggling werewolves, all of them being drenched in chilly water. And then he’s lying alone as said pile of werewolves is fighting over the hose. The vampire lifts himself up, leaning on his hands, watching wolves enjoying the cold water treatment.

“Seriously?” Their Alpha asks, already standing closer to them and rubbing a hand down his face wearily.

Anne and Marie growl at each other, Luke stumbles into them pushed by Seth, and the hose the girls were battling over gets directed at Eric. There’s a gasp that runs over the whole of the pack and all of them drop everything and stop breathing for a second, even Dan. Eric stares at them all, not a hint of amusement on his dripping face, eyes blazing Alpha red. Then a little huff of laughter sounds behind him and they all turn their eyes on Nathan who’s covering his grin with a hand.

“You think it’s funny?” Eric lifts an eyebrow at his mate.

“No, totally not funny,” Nate smirks wide and proud. "Hilarious would be more accurate."

Using his werewolf speed, Eric grabs the hose, and that’s how Nathan joins their club of sopping wet persons. Now the Alpha is the one roaring with laughter but Nate, of course, can’t leave it at that, and another fight breaks out. Dan watches with amusement as sides are taken and the battle begins.

Phil drops next to him, muddy and as drenched as Dan. They’re a little ways away from the main event but little droplets of water still manage to spray them now and again.

“I bet twenty bucks that Eric’s team will win,” Phil offers Dan his right hand.

The vampire glances over them. Laughter and playful growls sound in the air. Olivia slips in the mud trying to perform some super complicated move and lands on her face. Seth cackles so hard that he turns red but soon he gasps, landing on his back as Olivia kicks his feet from under him. And they’re on the same team.

“Let’s make it more interesting,” the vampire smirks, turning to his boyfriend. “You’re not gonna sneakily eat my cereal for a whole month if Nate’s team wins.”

“I never,” Phil gasps too dramatically, grasping at his heart with flourish.

“Then where does my cereal go, Phil, huh?” Dan lifts a questioning eyebrow.

“Fine, fine,” the werewolf rolls his eyes. “Then you’re getting up to sign for all the early morning parcel deliveries,” Phil grins back at him.

“Evil,” Dan appraises, pursing his lips. “Deal,” he says, and they shake on it.

Then the vampire leans back, shoulder brushing his boyfriend’s, and watches the scene play out before him. It brings a smile to his face, seeing the pack happy and relaxed. And he’s a part of that. Finally, he has a family that accepts him and doesn’t just make use of him before discarding him until further notice. Dan has a pack, friends, and a boyfriend who all care about him as much as he cares about them; it’s stunning how much can change in a year.

Dan leans heavier against Phil’s side. Dusk is already starting to fall, the werewolves’ eyes glow in the near darkness. There’s a squawk from Nathan as Eric grabs onto him from behind, lifting him off his feet. The human flails fruitlessly before being deposited on the ground and covered by a werewolf, his complaints quickly swallowed by the Alpha’s mouth on his.

“Seems like I won,” Phil’s breath ghosts over Dan’s ear, making the vampire shiver.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” the brunet replies, eyes still on the wolves.

Betting on Nathan’s cunning proves to be the correct decision on Dan’s part. The human easily distracts his werewolf mate with the passionate kissing, rolling him over. Then Nate jumps to his feet, wet curls bouncing and slipping over his eyes, and grabs the now forgotten hose. He sprays Eric who’s still lying on the ground, blinking confusedly.

“No cereal for you,” Dan tells Phil, a smirk on his lips.

The beta only rolls his eyes and leans forward, kissing the winning smile off Dan’s face. The vampire has nothing against it.

Moon is slowly creeping up from the east, round and pale. The wolves turn their heads up and howl for a few seconds, eyes glowing in yellows, blues, and reds. But then the moment passes, and they’re back to normal.

Phil hasn’t been as fidgety as the rest of the pack for the whole day, and Dan’s proud of his control. The werewolf has told Dan that having a mate, someone who anchors him, helps a lot, so Dan’s been trying to spend as much of the full moon nights with Phil as possible. He still doesn’t engage in the after-the-moon-reaches-its-peak runs as those are only for full shift wolves, but he tries to be there for Phil for as long as he can.

The nine werewolves and Dan turn their heads towards the house, as if they can see through it to the front yard, when an engine of a car becomes audible. The vampire has no idea who could be coming to visit a pack of wolves at such an hour.

“It’s Reina?” Phil tells Dan, raising an eyebrow. The wolf has always been better at discerning heartbeats so Dan fully believes him, and supposes that the confusion colours his tone because Reina left a week ago and they haven’t gotten any messages from her since.

“Sarah, could you go meet her?” Eric asks, and the girl leaves the porch to go through the house.

Dan stands up, listening to Reina’s cheery tones as she greets Sarah. The whole pack moves closer to the porch before the girls appear out the back after a minute or so. There are greeting howls all around and werewolves are stepping onto the porch but the witch raises her hands and backtracks.

“Oh, no,” she shakes her head. “None of you are touching me until you clean off the mud and the wet dog smell,” she grins.

“Dog jokes are so last year,” Dan tells her. “Besides, I’m not canine,” he tells her and then uses his vampire agility to pounce up the steps and bear hug her.

“You’re so gonna regret this, you jerkwad,” Reina manages to wheeze out but she hugs him back.

The pack sees this as the perfect opportunity to tackle them both and reassert their scent on the witch. The group hug doesn’t last long as Reina’s not much for physical affection.

“Yeah, yeah, I missed you too,” the witch says dismissively, disentangling herself from the pile. “But it’s the full moon and you’ve got running to do, so shoo,” she motions her hands, waving them off. “Except for you two,” she grabs hold of Dan’s wrist and, surprisingly, Eric’s.

The Alpha lifts an eyebrow at her and so does Dan.

“We need to talk,” the witch says.

“That never bodes well from my experience,” Dan tells Eric and the Alpha only huffs at the attempted joke.

“Am I not included in the talk?” Phil asks from beside Dan, his fingers coming to rest on the small of the vampire’s back.

Dan understands what he means. Usually, when Reina needs to talk to them, it’s about fixing Dan and Phil’s werewolf marriage, so he’s always asked to join.

“Not yet,” Reina answers him and tows the Alpha werewolf and the vampire into the house.

They end up in the sound-proofed office. The witch closes the door as Eric makes himself comfortable leaning against the desk, and Dan drops down into a chair.

“So,” Reina begins, pacing slowly in front of them both. “We’ve been trying to find a spell that would remove your lover bond without removing the mate bond as they’re intertwined together.”

“Yeah,” Dan draws out, not sure where this is going, and why Eric is needed for this.

“But then I thought that the problem is not the bonds,” the witch stops, looking from one of them to the other.

“Okay?” Eric says just to say something.

Reina huffs, rolling her eyes. “The problem is Dan’s immortality,” she motions to him wildly.

“Pretty sure that making me undead is more difficult than breaking a bond,” Dan narrows his eyes at her.

“Impossible, actually,” Reina waves a dismissive hand. “There are no spells to return a vampire back to human.”

“Then what are you –” Dan attempts but the witch flicks him on the forehead. Eric snorts at that and Dan sends him a glare.

“If you’d let me fucking talk,” Reina scowls at the vampire and Dan rolls his eyes. If she didn’t talk in circles and got straight to the point then he wouldn’t have to interrupt her. Not that it would help to argue this point with her now.

“So,” the witch crosses her arms. “I read a while ago that a werewolf bitten by a vampire can become a hybrid,” she glances at Eric.

The Alpha nods slowly, brows furrowed. “Yeah, I know of it happening once.”

“You want me to turn Phil?” Dan stands up, eyes wide, voice louder than necessary.

Why the hell would she not include Phil in this talk? It’s not like Dan can make this, or any really, decision for him. And Dan wouldn’t even turn him. Being a vampire sucks ass. He doesn’t want his boyfriend dying every day over and over for the rest of eternity, or not being able to step outside without burning to a crisp, or losing all the people he loves while he remains the same year after year.

“Yes, that’s an option,” Reina agrees. “But not what I had in mind. It wouldn’t do much good for anyone making Phil immortal and letting him watch his pack die out,” the witch echoes Dan’s sentiments. She exhales slowly and glances between Dan and Eric again, meaning serious business. “I think I found a spell that could turn you,” her eyes land on Dan, “into a hybrid.”

“What?” The vampire near whispers, sitting back down and frowning at his friend.

“If you agreed to it,” Reina says, “and if an Alpha was willing,” she stares pointedly at Eric, “I think I could make it work.”

A million thoughts whizz through Dan’s mind as he just sits there, staring at the carpet and running his fingers through his hair. He rubs at his eyes and sighs before looking back up at Reina.

“Has this ever been done?” He asks, lips set into a thin line.

“No,” the witch answers truthfully.

“Shit, Reina,” Dan huffs out, slumping in the chair. He darts his eyes to the side, thumb going to his mouth so he can nibble at the nail.

“I know,” she says. “There are no guarantees of what’ll happen and it’s risky as hell but it’s been a year, Dan. I have nothing else to offer you,” she whispers the last part.

The vampire glances back at the witch. She’s hugging herself self-consciously, her usual self-assured and cocky demeanour gone for now, and she looks like the teen that she is. Dan knows she’s been trying beyond belief to fix what Dan and Phil fucked up, and that she’ll keep trying, fruitless as it may be, if Dan refuses this offer. But he can’t just go in blind. Not again.

“I need to think,” the vampire says after a few beats of silence. “I suppose, you do too,” he looks over at Eric.

The Alpha has a pensive expression on his face. He meets Dan’s eyes and nods in answer. Then he addresses Reina. “If it doesn’t work out, worst case scenario,” Eric asks her, “ he’d die, right? The ones, who get the bite and it doesn’t take, die in my experience.”

“That’s a very real possibility,” Reina agrees reluctantly. “I mean, it hasn’t been done before. I only found theoretical musings of an emissary of some pack. It might not even do anything for all we know.”

“So you’re not even sure what it will _do_?” Dan demands, voice a lot harsher than he intended, making the witch flinch slightly. He breathes in slowly, calming himself down.

“ _Theoretically_ ,” Reina emphasises the word, glaring at Dan, “the spell, combined with an Alpha’s bite, should turn you into a werewolf slash vampire hybrid. But the only known hybrids are werewolves later turned by vampires. They still have their mortality, they’re faster and stronger than any werewolf or vampire, and they have a decreased bloodlust and more control over full moons and their shifts. And they’re double the awesome,” she tries for a smile, looking shyly at Dan.

The vampire now feels like a dick. He knows that Reina’s just trying to help and it’s not her fault that the spell hasn’t been tried before. So he smiles back at her, if a bit strained.

“Do they adhere to pack dynamics?” Eric wonders.

“Yeah,” Reina nods. “If it works, then you’d have another beta to strengthen your pack.”

“Or to challenge me,” the Alpha muses, eyes skimming over Dan’s features.

The vampire scoffs. “Like I would,” he rolls his eyes. “I don’t know the first thing about running a pack of werewolves.”

Eric only shrugs his shoulders. “Some werewolves can’t deal with the power they get. And Reina said that hybrids are stronger. You might just want to become Alpha instinctively.”

Well, that doesn’t help at all. Dan frowns. Trust his Alpha to make it even worse by presenting more scenarios that could go to shit, as if him dying isn’t enough of a risk.

“Shouldn’t we discuss this with the pack?” Dan asks Eric.

“Taking the bite is a personal decision,” the werewolf says. “In your situation even more so. You’d be losing your immortality and you’d have to become my beta.” He cracks a smile then. “I know you’re not good with authority figures.”

Dan manages to smile back before he’s leaning his elbows on his knees, carding through his hair again. He wished for years to take back the control of his life and now that he has it, he doesn’t know the right decision to make. Irony at its finest. The vampire groans, dragging a hand down his face.

“If it helps,” Reina begins, “I really think I could make it work, Dan. I _know_ I could make it work,” she corrects herself.

And what the hell else does Dan have to lose? Sure, the life he has built during the past year is all that he wanted and more, but he wouldn’t be able to survive the maddening grief of losing it all and having to live with that pain for the rest of eternity. Of course, he has a contingency plan in place that he never told anyone about as he doubts they’d approve of his suicidal thoughts, especially not Phil.

Besides, he’d very much like to grow old with Phil and the pack, and not simply watch them grow old while he remains the way he is. Not being plagued by never ending nightmares and not having his heart stop every day seems like a nice bonus too. And it all could only cost him his life. Shit, if he dies –

“Phil,” Dan says suddenly, wide eyes staring at Eric. “If this ends badly, if I die,” he lets it hang in the air.

“We’ll take care of him,” the Alpha places a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “We wouldn’t let him go feral, I promise.”

The brunet nods a couple of times. Of course, the pack will take care of Phil, Dan has nothing to fear in regards to that. So he’s only left with the question if he wants to become half werewolf and half vampire. Sounds interesting enough. And totally like a shitty decision he’d make.

“Alright, I’m game,” the vampire makes up his mind and stands up, trying not to psyche himself out of this.

“Really?” Reina asks dubiously, brows knitting together.

Dan rolls his eyes. “Not helping, Rei,” he huffs.

“Okay, okay,” she lifts her hands up then glances at Eric. “How about you, big bad?”

The Alpha once again looks over the vampire, evaluating him silently in ways known only to himself. “If you’re sure,” he tells Dan.

“I am,” Dan replies instantly, standing by his decision though completely expecting it to come bite (no pun intended) him in the ass at a later date.

“Then we’re doing it,” Eric nods.

“Great,” Reina claps her hands, a grin on her face. “I’ll get the supplies from my car,” she intends to scurry off but Eric’s voice stops her.

“We’re doing it _now_?” The werewolf asks. If more alarmed or shocked, Dan can’t quite tell.

“Well, yeah,” the witch shrugs. “It’s the full moon, prime time for creating a hybrid,” she shoots them both another smile and dashes out of the room.

“Apparently, we’re doing it now,” Eric mumbles with a resigned sigh.

“Hey,” Dan tells him. “If you don’t want me to become your beta,” he begins but shuts up when Eric waves his hand about, dismissing him.

“You’re already pack,” Eric’s lips quirk up into a smile. “Now you’ll just have to actually listen to me.”

“I listen,” Dan protests indignantly.

“Sure you do,” the Alpha drawls out, walking out of the room.

Back outside, the night has fallen completely. The moon has risen further, slowly reaching for its peak, but they still have an hour or so until the zenith.

The werewolves are now wrestling one another in the low light of the moonlight, still rolling around in the dirt. Kevin has Seth in a headlock and the teen wolf is flailing his arms, squawking. Olivia’s already in full shift, she’s the most impatient about it, and is snapping her jaws at Luke’s heels, chasing him around the yard. Marie has Anne’s face pressed into the grass, grinning madly. Phil and Ethan are circling one another, assessing weaknesses and possible attack points.

“What’s going on?” Nathan asks, worry creasing his brow. He turns to them from his spot watching the wolves as Eric and Dan are approaching.

“We’re turning Dan into a werewolf,” the Alpha answers easily, throwing an arm around his mate’s shoulders and nuzzling at his hair.

Nate doesn’t even react to the affection. He still has his hands crossed, letting Eric scent mark him or whatever, and he raises an eyebrow at Dan.

“I’m sure being delusional isn’t a thing werewolves experience during full moons,” the human says uncertainly.

“He’s right,” the vampire nods. “Reina found a spell.”

“What?” Phil calls from further away. He loses focus and Ethan makes him eat dirt for it.

Phil pushes the other werewolf soon enough and is standing next to Dan in no time. Yeah, maybe Dan should’ve discussed this with him first? Dan grimaces slightly.

“Explain,” Phil scowls, stance tense. Dan can already see Phil got into his super-serious-meaning-business-second-in-command mode. The vampire sighs.

“Reina thought that instead of finding a way to break the lover bond, we could just deal with my immortality,” he explains briefly.

“By turning you into a werewolf?” Phil seems extremely doubtful that would work. Great. Dan really needs this kind of support.

“Yeah,” the vampire nods either way. “She’s got a spell that’ll turn me into a hybrid, half werewolf and half vampire.”

“Has the spell been performed before?” Nate wonders. And Dan would be so touched by the worry in his voice if he hadn’t asked the question that Dan doesn’t want to answer.

“There are hybrids who have been turned successfully,” he tells half the truth, glancing at Eric but the Alpha only watches him, not correcting or adding anything else.

“So this is safe?” Phil’s still frowning.

“Ish,” Dan shrugs a shoulder. “There’s never a hundred per cent when magic’s involved.”

“Don’t worry, Lester,” Reina says, approaching them with her bag of wonders over her shoulder. “I’ll get you an improved and updated version of this,” she claps Dan on his shoulder blade, “by the end of the night.”

“Reassuring,” Phil mumbles, not looking reassured at all.

The witch walks off, shooing wolves out of her way, telling them to get back on the porch so as not to mess with the ritual. She gets a can of salt out of the bag, dropping the latter by her feet, and then starts pouring the salt on the grass, drawing circles and sigils.

Every pack member touches Dan’s shoulder, or his upper arm, or, in Ethan’s case, punches him on the arm, while passing him. All of them look worried but don’t say anything except for a good luck. Olivia leans her front paws on Dan’s chest and nuzzles at his neck before sauntering off to the rest of them.

Phil’s the last to approach him. He takes Dan’s hands in his, entwining their fingers. “I love you,” he says sincerely instead of asking Dan if he’s sure or begging him to rethink this or not do this at all. They’re getting way better at understanding each other’s needs without talking.

“I know,” Dan answers reflexively, a small smile playing at his lips.

Then Phil’s fingers are tangling into the hairs on the nape of the brunet’s neck, tugging him towards the werewolf. The touch of their lips is soft and oh so familiar to Dan; Phil’s are slightly warmer against Dan’s own chilly ones but still exhilarating as every other time. The vampire puts his arms around his boyfriend, keeping him close as the kiss deepens. Once Phil’s other hand is freed, it comes to rest on the side of Dan’s neck, thumb pressed to the pulse point. The werewolf nips a couple times on his mate’s lower lip before pecking his mouth three more times for good measure, making Dan laugh.

“This will seem so stupid when it’s all anticlimactic and nothing even happens,” Dan mumbles. Phil’s lips quirk upwards and then he presses a couple more kisses to Dan’s neck. “Alright, alright,” the brunet pushes at the wolf’s chest. “There are people watching.”

Phil pulls back but caresses Dan’s cheek one last time. “Good luck,” he says simply and walks to the porch to join the others.

Looking to his right, Dan notices that Nathan is gone, leaving Eric standing alone. Huh. Clearly Dan had more engaging things to concentrate on than the whereabouts of his pack mates. He blushes slightly.

“Okay,” Reina calls from where she’s standing in the middle of a salt circle. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Eric nods and moves towards her, determinedly. Dan stalls for a couple of seconds, exhaling heavily and hoping that he’s making the right decision. Then he’s walking too, carefully stepping over the salt drawings, so as not to disturb them, until he reaches the inner circle where the witch is standing.

“It’s funny how this complicated spell took you five minutes to prepare when a locator spell took all day,” Dan muses, watching as Reina pulls containers filled with gods know what out of her backpack.

“Dumbass,” Reina rolls her eyes. “It took me three days to get all this ready,” she motions at the Tupperware. And really? Are plastic containers the prime storage items for super-important-mystical-magic crap nowadays?

Also, wait what?

“You found out about this three days ago and didn’t tell me so I could think on it?” Dan crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes at the witch.

Reina huffs, taking off the lids. “If you must know, I found out about the spell a week ago,” she glares at Dan as he’s about to protest even further because a _week_?! “The people in the place I was frown upon technology. I had no means to contact you, that’s why I kept radio silence since I’ve been gone.”

Well, at least that explains that. Dan’s still not thrilled that he got the spell thing just sprung on him when he could’ve had a week to rethink, overthink, and obsess over it. Which wouldn’t have done much good, to be fair. He probably would’ve already lost the nerve to perform this spell. So maybe it’s a good thing Reina couldn’t tell him anything.

“Alright,” the witch says. She’s already put all the ingredients into a copper bowl, and has added the drop of her blood, now she’s mixing it all with a knife already familiar to Dan; it was used during the ritual to break Dan and Natalie’s bond. Yeah, good memories. The vampire frowns, hoping this won’t be like that time. “Take your shirts off,” Reina orders.

“Why do all spells necessitate being half naked?” Dan wonders aloud.

This time, both Reina and Eric groan at him.

“Do the questions ever end with you?” The Alpha shakes his head, throwing his shirt away, outside the circle. Dan does the same.

“I’m nervous. When I’m nervous, I overanalyse things and I voice my questions. Or just simple musings. Or stuff I notice,” he babbles on, shutting up only when Reina explicitly tells him to.

So Dan purses his lips, drumming his fingers on his thigh, expelling the nervous energy that way. Reina starts drawing on Eric first, using the blunt side of the knife. The vampire glances across the yard, to his pack. They all are watching them attentively, Nathan more intense than others, observing every minute movement of Reina’s as she’s got a knife to his mate’s chest. Phil, however, smiles to Dan; just a little reassuring one but it grounds the brunet and stops his fidgeting fingers.

Dan tunes back into what’s happening in the circle. Now Eric’s got a half moon, filled with squiggly lines and more sigils, on his chest. As Reina mumbles something under her breath, the marks start glowing red as do Eric’s eyes.

Then the witch moves onto Dan. The other half of the moon is drawn so that if Eric and Dan stood close enough, it’d make a full one. More squiggly lines and sigils follow, and Reina steps back. She once again says an incantation, making Dan’s marks flash orange. It burns slightly.

The witch deposits the bowl on the grass, knife still in hand. She closes her eyes, arms bent at the elbow, palms facing the sky, words falling out of her mouth gracefully. A light wind picks up but Dan notices that it exists only inside the circle.

Reina keeps up her chanting, and Dan feels the marks heating up. By the way Eric flinches, Dan supposes, he felt it too. But the pain is nothing unbearable, totally more preferable to the unbonding ritual Dan experienced a year ago.

Suddenly the world fills with light, and Dan realises that the salt circle and sigils are emitting a harsh white glow. He blinks fast several times to get adjusted to it. The wind billows stronger and a low hum buzzes in the air.

Well, this is way different from the other time.

White noise fills Dan’s mind, his vision swims, and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, Reina’s saying something but Dan can’t hear her. He squints at the witch, asking to repeat, but he can’t even hear _himself_. He can feel plenty though.

So he gasps as Eric’s canines sink into his forearm without as much as a warning, his strong fingers holding Dan in place as he very much wants to squirm away and not get his arm bitten off. The Alpha is in beta shift, eyes bleeding red, and when he backs off, so is Dan’s arm. The bite stings and doesn’t start to heal; Dan can’t feel the familiar pinprick sensation of his flesh twining back together. He has no idea if that’s a good thing or not.

A howl rings through the quiet of the night, and Dan catches himself thinking that he didn’t notice when the buzzing stopped. The rest of the pack join in on their Alpha’s outburst, heads turned to the full moon. He doesn’t yet feel compelled to do the same.

The salt markings stop glowing abruptly, the wind disappears, and Reina rolls her shoulders as if after a tough workout. Which, probably, it was for her. Glancing down at himself, Dan sees that the drawings on his chest have turned black, like tattoos. Ugh, he so didn’t agree to have his chest tattooed.

“That’s it,” Reina grins at Dan.

“So it worked?” He asks, probing, against better judgement, with a finger at the bite and frowning at it. Eric bats his hand away with a growl.

“It takes time, like any other Alpha bite,” Reina answers, gathering her things. “But you’re not dead so that’s a plus,” she shrugs a shoulder. Dan pushes at her, nearly making her topple over.

But he’s toppled over himself when Phil crashes into him enthusiastically. “Hey, whoa,” Dan laughs underneath the werewolf, breath knocked out of him. “I told you it will be anticlimactic.”

“Anticlimactic?” Phil parrots back, lifting on his hands above Dan, stopping nuzzling at Dan’s neck. “It took half an hour, Dan, and your eyes were this weird orangey colour, and you _levitated off the ground_ , chanting along with Reina for a good five minutes,” he informs the vampire.

“Well,” Dan furrows his brows. “I don’t remember that.”

Phil snorts, not commenting, and leans down to connect their lips. Dan sighs, eyes slipping shut, arms coming around his mate, keeping him close. But it’s short-lived as Phil’s yanked out of Dan’s grasp. The brunet growls at the interruption.

“The moon’s up,” Eric explains, lisping through his fangs as he’s in beta shift, holding Phil by the scruff of his shirt like he’s a naughty puppy. It brings a smirk to Dan’s face. “You coming?” The Alpha asks Dan, who’s still lying on the ground.

“Nah,” he shakes his head, heaving himself up. “I’m beat.” He feels like when he was human and had a particularly tough workout or something; all he wants is some sleep.

Eric nods, releasing Phil and sauntering off to the others. The beta at once plants a kiss to Dan’s lips, nips at his bottom lip before pulling away as Eric is calling his name.

“Have fun,” the brunet tells his mate with a soft smile, watching him leave.

The wolves shift in full, scraps of clothes exploding all over the lawn, and speed off into the treeline. Dan hears Nathan’s resigned sigh as he’ll be the one collecting random pieces of clothes tonight. He leaves the human to deal with that and turns to his friend.

“Need help?” Dan asks Reina, through a yawn, his eyelids suddenly feeling very heavy.

“Go rest, you idiot,” the witch pushes at his shoulder, actually making him stumble. “I got this,” she says, and gets back to erasing the salt markings.

Dan doesn’t argue with her. He gets back into the house and plops down onto a mattress in the living room, closing his eyes instantly and not intending to move; he doesn’t even care that he’ll wake up covered in werewolf.

***

Someone’s probing at his side and Dan grumbles into his pillow, furrowing his eyebrows, annoyed. He was having a pleasant dream, something about marshmallows the size of houses, and he’s so not appreciating the rude interruption. The poking doesn’t stop, however, and there’s also the added bonus of a weight on top of him, his name being whispered into his ear.

Ugh. Why can’t they leave him alone?

Dan turns onto his side, pushing the person off of himself, but frowns again when sunlight floods his closed lids. This is such a sucky morning.

“Dan, Dan,” is insistently mumbled against his shoulder blade, accompanied by a light bite.

“What, Phil?” He manages to say back with minimal irritation, shrugging his shoulder to get the werewolf to stop licking him. Like, what’s up with that?

“Your heart didn’t stop,” Phil’s still whispering behind him, his fingers are now roaming over Dan’s ribs. He grazes his teeth over Dan’s nape before adding, “And you smell different.” He licks up a stripe down Dan’s throat and the brunet gets a really inappropriate reaction, considering there are a bunch of werewolves spread all around them. If anyone catches on, Dan’s so throwing Phil under the bus.

“What?” The brunet wonders still confused and hella distracted by Phil’s hands and mouth. He squirms closer to his mate, relishing in his closeness and warmth.

“And you’re not ice cold anymore,” Phil adds with a nip on Dan’s bicep.

Slowly, so slowly that Dan’s embarrassed by it, it comes to him. Right. The ritual, the full moon, the bite, the zero nightmares. Dan’s eyes fly open, blinking rapidly in the sudden light, and he extends his arm, checking his forearm. There’s nothing.

“Woah,” he whispers, examining his arm as if it’s the eighth wonder of the world, turning it this way and that.

“It worked,” Phil grins against his skin, the scent of oranges filling Dan’s nose.

And just like that he’s at once aware of everything. There’s too loud breathing in the room, heartbeats pacing slowly as everyone’s still asleep, hints of pines and dirt and sweat and something he can’t really describe but what smells like _home_ in the air. Phil’s touch is no longer scorching to him, only pleasantly warm, and his own pulse is humanly fast, no longer sluggish and struggling.

“Woah,” Dan breathes again, turning onto his back and staring at Phil with wide eyes.

The werewolf is beaming at him, bright and honest, and tinges of caramel colour the air but the oranges still prevail. Dan scrunches up his nose. “What’s with the scents?” He asks quietly, rubbing his nose on Phil’s bicep. And since when Phil smells this _amazing_? Dan can’t get enough of it as he nuzzles his skin. The beta huffs a laugh into Dan’s hair.

“Now you know how I feel,” he teases. “What can you smell?”

“Oranges,” Dan replies, wiggling his nose. It’s not exactly unpleasant but he’s not used to smelling this much.

“It’s because I’m happy,” Phil tells him with a smile. “Every person’s emotions smell slightly differently but pure and strong ones are easy to distinguish. You’ll learn.”

“You never mentioned you could do that,” Dan furrows his eyebrows. Has Phil been secretly sensing his emotions that way? Seems a bit invasive.

But his mate shakes his head. “Doesn’t work on vampires,” Phil says. Then his nose twitches and he frowns. “Actually, still doesn’t work on you,” he pouts slightly.

Dan smirks, secretly pleased. He can’t stop himself from nosing against Phil’s collarbone, dragging his nose over the column of his neck, biting at his pulse point. Phil’s frame shakes with silent laughter, and a presence in Dan’s mind yips in approval of having made their mate happy.

That’s new. And terrifying.

The brunet stops his movements at once, rummaging around in his mind. The monster from before, when he was a vampire, is still there, subdued, not demanding blood at every possible chance. But it’s also joined by something new. Something that makes him purr being this close to his pack and his mate, and want to indefinitely touch every possible inch of Phil’s skin.

“Dan?” Phil’s voice shakes him out of his thoughts and Dan looks up at him, a bit disoriented by the new revelation. “Your eyes are glowing orange,” he murmurs, running his thumb underneath Dan’s eye.

Dan blinks several times, exhaling slowly, calming down. It’s easier than he remembers. “Being a werewolf is weird,” he comments, trying for a smile.

“It’s not that bad,” Phil shrugs, lips quirking up, thumb still caressing Dan’s cheek. “We’ll all make the transition as smooth as possible for you,” he promises.

And Dan easily believes him. There’s no doubt in his mind that his pack will help him, will have his back no matter what. Huh. Clearly, blindly trusting his pack is a part of being a werewolf.

The brunet nods and nuzzles into his mate some more. Phil places a kiss on the top of his head, and Dan hums appreciatively.

“I love you,” the werewolf whispers into Dan’s ear, making a shiver run down his spine.

“Mmm,” Dan hums at Phil’s collarbone where he’s working to leave a mark. “Love you too,” he mumbles against the skin before returning back to work.

Phil’s breath hitches slightly. Dan stops what he’s doing. Yeah, he hasn’t said that out loud yet, has he?

Dan lifts his head, eyes meeting Phil’s, and opens his mouth to repeat the words but doesn’t get a chance. Phil’s lips are on his, hard and demanding, and now Dan’s the one catching his breath. The brunet’s fingers automatically tangle themselves in his mate’s hair, his back arches off the mattress, wanting, _needing_ to be closer. Cinnamon and oranges and caramel are thick in the air.

A pillow to their faces make Dan and Phil break apart. The hybrid glares to his right at the tangle of limbs that is his pack and spots Anne, halfway sitting up, hair sticking every other way.

“Either you go upstairs or you stop that right now,” the beta growls, plopping back down onto Ethan’s chest.

“Upstairs?” Phil lifts an eyebrow at Dan, a devilish smirk on his lips.

“Definitely,” Dan agrees enthusiastically.

He kisses his mate again, just because he can, but it escapes them both soon enough, and several werewolves groan, more pillows hit them. Laughing and unable to keep their hands off each other, Dan and Phil make their way upstairs. As Dan’s back hits the mattress on an actual bed, eyes meeting his mate’s, shining with happiness, Dan thinks that maybe he did make the right decision last night.

And maybe the universe did know what it was doing, after all.


End file.
